Nothing We Were Ever Prepared For
by miss-stupid-sunshine
Summary: Fury decides that although Clint and Natasha are a great team, they can't just have one great team of SHIELD. So as a consequence, they are split up and made to get new partners. Everyone wonders why it's such a big deal, but they've never been apart. They try and cope, but will they manage? I don't own Marvel or The Avengers
1. Chapter 1

_Hi, I got an idea for a Clintasha fic, and I decided to post it on here. Seeing as I'm trying to keep up my Stony fic too, I don't know how often I'll post here, but at the very least every two weeks. I hope you like it, and any ideas or suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated._

People parted as Natasha walked swiftly down the hallway. It seemed everybody at SHIELD knew she was mad, and anybody who knew Natasha knew that when she was angry, you should stay out of her way. Other agents would literally flinch when she passed, or pretend to be doing something else. She wasn't actually as cold as she seemed. She had her soft spots.

Natasha reached the end of the corridor quickly, and didn't even bother knocking when she reached Coulson's office. The door was practically ripped off it's hinges, and Coulson didn't even look up before he said "Agent Romanoff," as a greeting.

"What is this?" Natasha said angrily, shoving a crumpled piece of paper towards Coulson. He already knew what it read, but he thought he'd humor her (Or put off talking to her) by reading it.

_Agent Romanoff._

_Due to recent events, your partnership with Agent Barton has been terminated. You shall receive a new partner on Saturday 21st April, as shall Agent Barton. For any inquiries, please direct them to Agent P. Coulson._

_Head of SHIELD,_  
_Director N. Fury._

_Oh great_. Coulson thought to himself. Of course Nick would direct her to him, that way he wouldn't have to deal with her rath. _Thanks Fury_, he said mentally.

"It appears to be a letter informing you of your new partner." Phil said calmly, laying his hands folded on his desk.

"Don't play dumb with me Coulson, you know what's going on." Natasha said rolling her eyes, putting her hands on his desk, propping herself up. "Don't go all official on me. Just explain."

"Natasha, Nick says he's made up his mind. There's no changing it." He gestured with his hands and got up, looking out the window that over looked the main room of the SHIELD helicarrier.

"Yes, I know that, but why? We're the best team SHIELD has to offer, we're unstoppable." She turned around to look at him, still leaning against the desk with her arms folded. And what were these recent events? They'd completed every mission they'd been set, and were now a permanent part of the Avengers.

"But that's why!" Coulson said it like it was obvious. "We are SHIELD, and we have one great team." That stopped Natasha. She couldn't quite understand what he was getting at.

"Last week, when you, and The Avengers, went after those aliens in Peru, we had a level 4. None of the agents could handle it. They messed up and they got away." Phil put a hand on his head and starting shaking it. "We need more teams, we can't just have you guys."

Natasha understood. They had always been the best SHIELD had to offer, and it was reasonable to want better for the sake of the agency. But did that meant that she agreed they had taken the best course of action? No. Did that mean that she was going to comply? Hell no.

"So, you're both getting new partners. End of story." Phil had known Natasha for almost as long as Clint had, and he knew if wasn't the end of the matter, but maybe he could get her off his case for now. "You guys will still work together on the Avengers."

"Does Clint know?" Natasha asked firmly. She knew Clint's reaction would be even more severe than her's, so they were most like waiting for the last minute to tell him.

"We left him a memo. But, you know he never reads those things." Phil walked back over to his desk. "We can call him in, if you want?" He asked, knowing that she wouldn't agree with anything when she was in this sort of mood.

"No. I'll tell him when I see him." Natasha finally uncrossed her arms, and smoothed down her top. It was just then when Phil took in what she was wearing, jeans and a red ribbed tank top.

"Was it your day off today?" He asked, voicing his thoughts, and desperately trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, but I found this left at my apartment," She grabbed the memo off his desk again. "And came in anyway." She sounded extremely vexed. The both sighed and stood in silence for a minute. "I'm not wasting my day off, I'm going home. But this isn't over." She threatened before walking out.

* * *

Saying she was pissed off, didn't even cut it. Ever since she had joined SHIELD, when he had recruited her, changed her side, and convinced everyone she was too skilled to lose, they'd been partners. She'd trained with him, fought with him, even lived with him for a while. But now, she was just supposed to get a new partner? And they expected her to work in the exact same way, to cooperate without fail? No, it would take time, and lots of it. Her and Clint had been molded, so that it would work, so that they would always work. She had to build that bond with someone new, all over again, who knew how long that would take? And she could only let so many people in.

It was a Monday and a reasonably quiet day in SHIELD, so the corridor that was usually busy, only had one or two groups of people talking. It didn't take her long till she found the group Clint was with.

"Hey, Nat." He said, smiling, turning away from the younger recruits he was talking to. "I thought today was your day off?"

"It was." She muttered, then looked around to the younger men standing beside them. They couldn't have been more than 23 or 24. "Can I talk to you? In private?" She asked, jerking her head towards the now very interested group of men.

"Sure." He gave a curt nod towards the men standing to the side as a goodbye and followed Natasha down the corridor, till they turned a corner, leaving them in an empty stretch of hallway. "What's up? You seem vexed?"  
She chose to ignore him. "Did you read the memo on your desk?" She sounded angry, but he would know later that she wasn't angry at him.

"No, I never read them, you know that." Clint looked really puzzled. He just left them on the the desk and let them pile up. She often bugged him to clear them out, he just never got around to it.

Natasha rolled her eyes and gave a sarcastic laugh, before shoving the crinkled memo at his chest. "Well, maybe you should." She retorted before walking off.

Clint was silent as he read the memo, cogs turning in his head."Wait!" He called, running after her. "Natasha, are they serious?"

"Yes, yes Clint they are. And there is nothing we can do about it. Phil said." Natasha turned suddenly so he almost walked straight into her. She smiled and shoved a piece of hair behind her ear. "We had a nice run." She held out her hand for him to shake and Clint just stared at it.

"Task, you've gotta be joking? We're not giving up, right?" Clint grabbed Natasha's wrist as she looked away. "Look, I'm gonna talk to Fury, he can't split us up." He sounded slightly angry, though he was trying to cover it up and people had begun to stare.

"Clint, it won't work, I talked to Phil ..." She looked away, even father and Clint let go, then he started walking away. He turned as he was walking.

"I'll fix this," He said. "Besides, we're SHIELD's greatest team!" He smirked and gave a wave.

* * *

"No means no, Barton." Fury was sitting at his desk, cup of coffee in his hands. He had to say, he'd expected Clint to be here sooner, but he should have anticipated Clint wouldn't actually read the memo.

"Director, Agent Romanoff and I have been partner's since she joined SHIELD, and we have succeeded in nearly every mission. I don't see why our team should be terminated." Barton leant against the wall, but began walking forwards when he started animating his point.

"We can't have one good team in the whole of SHIELD, God dammit!" Fury sounded agitated and began to gesture with his hands. "You're getting new partners. End of." He stood and pushed his leather coat back, hands on hips.

"Nick, come on, we'll personally train new recruits, that'll work right?" Clint knew Fury wanted him to leave, but he wasn't going to until he knew he had tried everything.

"Agent Barton, you are getting on my last nerve, and you might not be glad you did." Nick walked passed Clint and opened the office door, jerking his head towards it. "Go on, or you'll be on paperwork duty for the next month."

Clint sighed and put a hand through his hair. "Thank's for your co-operation." He muttered as he brushed passed - it had kinda turned into a SHIELD saying lately.

* * *

After the whole fiasco at SHIELD, Natasha decided to make the most of her day off. She visited Stark Tower, where Steve and Bruce were now residing, and said a hello to everyone there. Also, she managed to get in a quick workout with Steve, he was the only other person (other than Clint) who actually put here through her paces when she trained.

Rain splattered against the window pane of her living room window. When she had joined SHIELD, they had given her the apartment, and over the years she had made it more, homey. Well, homey for Natasha. The furniture was all slightly odd, and different, but same colours and styles, with light blues and creams. She wouldn't ever admit it, but she was slightly proud of the way she had decorated it. It made her feel like she could live a normal life if she tried.

The weather that week had been abismal and dreary. She could see people running around in the street below, scurrying under umbrellas and desperately trying to get out of the rain. Natasha pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head against them, keeping her balance on the slightly smaller than average window seat. Listening to the sound of the rain, she let her thoughts cloud her mind.

Had Clint managed to convince Fury? Most likely not, he's mind was set in stone, she was sure of it. But what did this mean for them? When they worked together, they were like two parts of a perfectly made machine. It was like that when the were off of missions as well. He understood the way she worked and how she felt about things, like her past. They could sit with each other for hours, without talking, and know exactly what the other one was thinking or feeling.

And yes, she would be lying if she said at any point had he never felt anything romantic for him. But this was Natasha, who didn't believe in love or happy endings. She pushed her feelings aside so often, that she even found it hard to know what she really felt. However, in her line of work, that was the best option.

A knock at the door startled her from her wondering, and she got up and slowly walked to the door. Who would call at this time? It was nine 'o'clock, which was the cut off time for any work related visits, and any of her new found friends (The Avengers) rarely came to her apartment. Who ever it was, she hoped the sweat pants and t-shirt was okay attire.

Natasha looked through the peep hole in her door and saw a soaking wet Clint leaning against the door, obviously dripping from the rain. She opened the door and he picked up his gaze from somewhere in the hallway, and turned it to her face. His eyes seemed sad, but his expression was hard, like he was also angry. "I'm sorry Task." He said.

Then it clicked. Clint had tried speaking to Fury, and he most likely didn't just asked, he probably pleaded, begged and negotiated. All had failed. So now, they were to get new partners. It didn't seem fair. If it wasn't for Clint, if they had sent another Agent to go kill her, there would be no team of Black Widow and Hawkeye. And yet they still had to be split apart.

Natasha walked away from the door, a signal for Clint to come in. She went directly into the spare room of the apartment, and pulled out some of Clint's clothes. He kept some here, for after difficult missions, when he didn't want to go back to SHIELD, where he lived in accommodation. When she returned to the living room, also carrying a towel, Clint had put the coffee machine on, but Natasha shook her head. She went over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne she'd been saving for something special. This seemed like an appropriate occasion.

Clint, wordlessly, took the clothes and changed in the bathroom, and when he returned, Natasha had poured two glasses. He reaches the glass and raised it. "To the end of SHIELD's greatest team." He said, and Natasha chorused it.

They decided not to mope over their situation, instead they went over old missions, ones that had turned into funny situations, ones where they had lost other agents, ones where they thought they had lost each other. Together, they managed to get through the whole bottle of champagne, before they moved onto beers, and fell asleep on the couch.

* * *

Natasha woke up to an empty apartment, silent as it had been before Clint arrived last night, except without the noise of rain against the windows. For a moment, she was beginning to wonder if she had imagined him coming over, but then she saw the empty beer bottles. The pounding in her head was very slight, and she didn't know if it was from her tolerance to alcohol, or from her high pain threshold. Either way, she wouldn't spend the day hung over.

Slowly, she made her way through to the kitchen, and saw the house phone had an answer message. She let it play as she began making eggs for breakfast.

"Hi Nat, it's me, Pepper." Her voice was slightly hurried. "There's a meeting at Stark Tower at 12:30. Clint told us not to tell you, and let you rest or something, but you are required for this. Hope you get this before then, thanks."

Natasha looked up at the clock. It was 11:45am now. 45 minutes. That's great, she thought to her self. Then she shrugged and decided to eat her eggs anyway. After that, she had a quick shower, and dressed in blue jeans, brown boots and a black top. She grabbed her leather jacket, after putting the bare minimum of make up on, then rushed out the door.

* * *

"You called her in?" Clint asked, angrily. "I said not to!" He didn't understand why even though he had specifically told them not to invite her, they still did. The Avengers didn't obey orders like SHIELD agents did. And anyway, who was he to give orders to Captain America?

"Clint, we need her here. Loki is residing in Russia, we need her to communicate." Bruce said, polishing his glasses. He definitely wasn't as quiet as when he first joined.

"I can speak Russian!" Clint argued. Natasha had taught him around 4 years ago, and after some independent learning, he was now fluent.

"But you don't look as hot as she does when you speak it." Tony said, his feet up on the board table, eating a donut. He gestured to Clint as he spoke. If that guy wasn't careful, he'd get such a ass kicking.

"Tony," Steve warned, to which Tony raised his hands, as if he'd done nothing wrong. Clint nodded gratefully at Steve, who flashed a smile in return, but then his face became serious again, and he added. "However, we do still need her for the mission."

"She'll be here any second." Pepper said, entering the room with a click of her heels. She was holding a clip hold, looking at each of us in turn, then presumably checking our names off. The only one missing was a Thor.

"Anyway," Tony began, while reaching for another donut, and having Pepper swat his hand away. "I thought you two were best buds, why don't you want her here?" Tony leant thought, expecting an answer.

"We're not best buds, we're partners." He said, his heart rising in his mouth when he realised his mistake. "Were partners." He corrected under his breath. Unfortunately, he forgot the one person in the room with better ears then everyone else.

"Were?" Steve asked, looking up from something underneath the table, probably a sketch pad. He thought no one knew he liked art. "What do you mean were?" Steve raised an eye brow.

Internally, Clint debated about telling them. No one said he couldn't. Would Natasha wanna tell them instead? He came up with a better idea. From his pocket, he produced the original memo he'd gone back to his desk to retrieve. He slid it across the table. Steve read it and his eyes widened. "Oh, Barton. I'm sorry about that. Will you two still be working here together?" Everyone else was wondering what was going on. Steve gestured, asking without words if he could pass it to Bruce, who would presumably in turn, pass it to Tony.

Clint nodded. "Yeah, we'll still be here." He watched each of there eyes skim over the paper, and all their reactions somewhat similar.

"That's stupid." Tony said, waving the memo around carelessly. "You are the best SHIELD has to offer, and they're tossing you away." If one thing could be said for Tony, he understood more than others. Whether it was Science, or Business, or tactics. Maybe not relationships, but still.

"That's their point apparently. We need more good teams. So at the end of the week we get new partners." He sounded remorseful, and looked down.

"Cheer up buddy, it's not like you'll never see each other again." Tony got up and patted him on the back, before walking round to the screen Jarvis had set up. He began moving around scientific variables, which apparently had nothing to do with the meeting. Just for fun, he guessed.

"You don't get it." Clint said, sounding sorry for himself, and he lowered his head into his arms. At that moment Natasha walked in, looking a mix between happy and serious. She had a good pokerface.

"What don't we get?" She asked, sitting down. Before any of the others could reply, Clint said it was nothing, then gave them all stern looks, translating to "You bring it up, you're dead meat."

"Shall we start then?" Steve said quickly to diffuse the tension.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, wow, I wasn't expecting that good a response to my last one, so I got this chapter out extra early. Thanks people, because reviews are always welcome and they make me smile lots and lots. I was practically asleep at the end of this chapter, so sorry for any mistakes. Just tell me and I'll fix them tomorrow. I'd also love to hear any suggestions you may have. Hope you like it!**

* * *

"That was tedious." Tony sighed as they filed into the meeting room of Stark Tower. The Avengers had withdrawn Loki from a secrete location in Russia. It had been a waiting game, having all six of them, including Thor who had come down to retrieve his brother, bored stiff. When they did get the chance to ambush them however, Loki had been ready. And although their fighting skills were much more superior, they were still outnumbered and it had taken a while. Now they were all battered and sore.

"I don't know about you," Clint said to Natasha, flopping into a chair and stretching his arms out. "But I'm demanding more days off." Natasha smiled and sat down next to him. Even when he was in a foul mood, Clint always managed to have a laugh, and bring everyone else's moods up too. She'd miss that.

"Yeah, but I'll guess we'll be busy for a few weeks." She replied looking down. Then, when Clint had looked confused she added. "Training with our new ... partners, after all." She said the word partners so quietly Clint could barely hear it, let alone anyone else in the room.

"Yeah..." They both trailed off and looked away. It was slightly tense between them for then on, for the rest of the night, but they still sat next to each other through the debriefing and exchanged solemn glances.

Every so often, Clint would look over to her when she was doing something else, but whatever it was, she was doing it half heartedly. She had a glazed over look in her eye, like she always had whenever something was bugging her. No prizes for guessing what that was. She was beautiful, nonetheless, Clint could never deny that. Her green eyes stood out amongst her fiery hair, and her pale skin illuminated them.

He had to admit, the ever nearing prospect of their team splitting up, broke him. He had been the one to recruit her, to save her. If any other agent had been sent, she'd be dead. He shook his head trying to get rid of the mental picture. Seeing Natasha dead would be more than he could cope with. Maybe, in that aspect, it was a good thing they were getting new partners. That way he could focus more. But being with her out weighed that factor.

"You guys wanna stay the night?" Tony called towards the end of the table, where he and Bruce had paused conversing to talk to them. Clint turned to Nat who shook her head.

"I'm tired guys. Think I just need a good sleep." She looked back at Clint and gave another sad smile. She reached under the table and squeezed his hand. Tony groaned and muttered something about her being boring.

"How about you Clint? You staying?" Clint took a second to look away from Natasha, over to Tony and Bruce, who were looking at him expectantly, and Steve who was doodling on a random piece of paper, that he'd probably remember he needed it. Thor was down a few floors, deciding what to do with Loki. They couldn't go back to Asgard until the morning so Loki had to stay here for the night.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" He said, shrugging. One thing was for sure; he didn't wanna go back to SHIELD right now. Natasha starting packing up her things, and left smiling. The others didn't see, but once she reached the elevator, when she thought know one else was looking, the smile vanished.

They all broke of into there own conversations, Tony and Bruce, and Clint and Steve. The two chatted about simple stuff, the mission, living in the tower, how Steve was finding technology. Clint assumed Tony and Bruce were talking about science of some sort, because he kept hearing words like particles and atoms.

After a little while Thor entered the meeting room, dragging Loki by a chain. Thor was smiling greatly and clapped Steve on the back, saying he fought well. Loki just looked really bored.

"Friends, as Loki and I must rest here tonight, I took it upon myself to ungag him, if you do not mind." Thor pulled his brother in front of him and smiled even wider. "He has promised to behave."

The others took turns looking at each other. Loki? Behave? Somehow they doubted it. Clint , more than most of them, hated Loki, he'd taken control of his mind and played around with it. The news of Loki staying with them for the made his toes curl.

"Are you serious? It's Loki!" Clint said, hands on the table, swishing his head round to see the others reaction.

"Clint, calm down." Steve said, leader mode kicking in. He sighed and stood up. "But Thor, can we really trust him tonight? Wouldn't it be better just to put him downstairs in that room Tony put up?" Good, Clint thought. Steve didn't trust him either.

"Oh Good Captain, I can be sure he'll not try anything. He has sworn." Loki rolled his eyes as his brother spoke, and sat down in the chair furthest away from any of them.

"Yeah, we know you trust him, Shakespeare, but how do you know?" Tony also got up and walked over towards Loki, and rested an arm on his shoulder. Loki shrugged it off immediately.

"Man of Iron, I am extremely happy to say, my brother has chosen to try and redeem himself." Every single head in the room turned to stare at Loki, who, surprisingly, looked sincere.

Loki looked down shrugged, some what embarrassed. "I miss home." He said as if it was explanation enough. "I hope that my father will forgive me." The way he said "My father" made it sound like he really didn't care if any one else forgave him.

"Fine." Steve said before anyone else could argue. And that was the way it was with Steve. Even though other people may disagree with him, what he said, goes. So that was the end of the subject, no matter how much Clint disliked it.

There was an awkward pause and nobody knew quite what to say. "What do we do now?" Bruce asked, speaking for the first time in a while. Tony looked around at them,smirking like he knew something they didn't.

"Boys night!" Tony shouted, grabbing Bruce and Steve round the shoulders.

Great, Clint thought. Fun - not.

* * *

Stopping of to get Chinese take out had been a good idea, or Natasha thought so. They had worked hard today and now all she wanted was a good meal and a chance to get to sleep early for once.

She shifted the bag of food in her hand so she could opened the door to her apartment. Over a sudden wave of tiredness, she fumbled her keys and dropped them. Before she could reach down and grab them, a tan hand picked them up.

Holding out the keys was a man with messy, pitch black hair and big, round brown eyes. His skin was a smooth olive tone, that suggested he was either Italian or Spanish. The most prominent feature on his face was his smile, that would probably make other woman swoon, but Natasha didn't even bat an eyelid. Instead, she snatch the keys back.

"You're welcome?" He said, smirking. "Or you know a thank you would be nice." He sounded arrogant, but in a more physical way, rather than Stark, who was more "Oooh, look I'm so smart!" Granted, he was.

"Thank you for doing something I could of done myself." Natasha raised her eyebrows and gave the man one of her "Do not mess with me" looks, in which she was famous for.

"Hey, babe, I was just trying to do something nice." He held up his hands defensively. Sorry, what?! Natasha thought to herself. He better watch what he said.

"Careful who you call 'babe' there." She turned away and started opening her door again. Guys like that got on her nerves. You could bet anything that he wouldn't be talking to librarian Carol next door. Men usually end up getting an earful from her.

"Well, if I knew your name, I wouldn't have to." He leaned against the side of her door, so he was in her line of vision, and flashed that captivating smile again.

She paused, and then sighed. She knew he wouldn't go away anytime soon. So just as her door clicked open, she said. "Natalie, Natalie Rushmen." Of course she couldn't tell him her real name.

"Great," He replied, most likely happy he had gotten a real response. "I'm Adam." There was an awkward silence for a second. "Can I come in?" He asked, confidently.

"No." She said quickly, stepped inside and shut the door. She was sure that wasn't the last of him she'd see. She took the food, that was now cold, and set it on the counter. Great, she thought, eating alone again.

* * *

"Pick it up Rogers, you're slacking." Tony said, gripping the guitar tightly, going onto his knees, while playing. Steve mumbled an apology then carried on with the bass. Clint shook his head and carried on with the drums. This was the most animated game of band hero Clint had ever played.

"99% Steve, beat that." Tony grinned, after the song had finished. After watching some TV, Tony had insisted on playing the game. They had only agree when Tony said they could order pizza if they complied.

"Lay off, Stark." Clint said, getting up and throwing himself down on the sofa next to Thor, then grabbed a piece of pizza. He started munching as the others exchanged looks. Tony decided it was his job to voice their opinions.

"What's up Barton, you've been weird all night?" Tony said, sprawling out on an arm chair and opening a beer. Clint looked up confused. Has his fowl mood really been that obvious?

"Oh, nothing. Just that thing with Tash." He shrugged as he spoke and went back to his pizza. The fact that their duo would never be working together again was playing on his mind a lot. He could get on with things, talk to people, do paperwork, train too, but hell, he could shoot an arrow with his eyes shut. But in the back of his mind, the fact that he'd never be working with Natasha again was deeply upsetting. Sure they'd have the Avengers, but it wasn't the same.

"So you guys won't be working together anymore? What's the big deal?" Tony was verging on the point of interregating, and it was becoming more and more aggravating. Why couldn't he just drop it?

"I told you, you guys don't understand. It's different with me and Tash." He could say it a million times and he'd never get the point across. Natasha and him were just in sync. They worked perfectly together.

"What don't we understand? Is there something we're missing?" Steve asked this time, obviously curious. He just wanted to be polite about it. Before Clint could reply, Loki scoffed and muffled a laugh.

"Some funny, brother?" Thor asked, who was now on his sixth slice of pizza. Thank God they bought four huge pizzas.

"Isn't obvious?" Loki said, calmly, speaking for the first time this evening. He looked around at there blank faces. "He's in love with her." He said it as if it explained everything that's ever been questioned. They all looked around to Clint.

"No I don't. Natasha and I are just partners." He stopped and looked around at them. "Were partners." He corrected himself.

Okay, so he wasn't telling the truth. He'd always had feelings for Natasha, sure, he'd admit that (to himself at least), but did he love her? He didn't think he'd ever loved anyone, so that meant Natasha had come the closest so far. But how could he tell if he loved her? And he knew Natasha, even if she felt the same (which to him, was highly unlikely) she'd never admit. It would make her too vunerable even if Clint said he felt the same.

"Well, why don't you guys move in here? Then you'll see her even if you don't work together anymore." Tony suggested while tapping away on his phone. That wasn't a half bad idea. But he wasn't entirely sure Natasha would agree. She liked her apartment because it was a place she could get away from SHIELD and the Avengers. Her private place. It wasn't likely she'd move.

"I'll think about it Tony. Not sure how Tash would feel, but I think I might anyway." He was getting sick of staying at SHIELD and the new agents were driving him crazy. And why not? If it wasn't for his foul mood, he would have had a great time tonight.

"Great." Tony clapped his hands together, signaling it was the end of the subject. "Now, who's seen the Hunger Games?"

* * *

The water ran hot over Natasha body as the last suds slipped down the drain. She tried to let her stress slip away with them, but they stuck to her. Her fingers slipped through her scarlet hair; it felt soft and smooth as the water dripped down it.

She stopped the shower abruptly. Her body automatically shivered as the cold seeped through the curtain. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. The hot shower had thoroughly steamed up the bathroom and Natasha could on see the vague outline of herself in the mirror. With her hand, she wiped a bit of the mirror, just enough to see her face. Her cheeks were slightly pink, and her green eyes stood out against her bright hair.

One deep breath in. She could get through today. Exhale. Better yet, she could get through today without murdering someone. Inhale. It wouldn't be that hard. Of course, it would be easier if she knew who they were. Exhale. Just try and stay calm. Today, she got her new partner. Today, her and Clint would never be a duo again. Today, everything would change.

* * *

Apparently, everyone at SHIELD now knew that Natasha and Clint were getting new partners, and now everyone wanted to know who they were going to be. There was a hushed buzz around and whispers followed Natasha as she walked down the hallway. She was used to SHIELD agents talking about her, obviously, she had arrived as an outsider, a renegade, but now she was the best they had to offer. Views on her differed from jealously to inspiration.

The meeting Nick had organised started in 15 minutes. It would take around 5 minutes to walk to that side of head quarters. So she'd be early? She stopped and make casual conversation to Maria and Phil when she passed, and generally took her time getting there.

When she reached the meeting room, Nick was already there, sorting through files and paperwork.

"Director." She nodded as she greeted him.

"Agent Romanoff. You're early." He acknowledged. She was rarely early, but never late. Usually, she arrived precisely on time. Unless she was with Clint. But they wouldn't have that problem anymore.

"Yeah. Getting here didn't take as long as I thought. Need any help with that?" She covered. She wasn't nervous about her new partner, Natasha never got nervous, how ever she was extremely curious.

"You may as well just wait. Max said she'd be early too." Oh, Natasha thought, she must be one of the new agents. Was it her's or Clint's? Usually, the partners consisted on a boy and a girl, but that wasn't always the case. Having a female partner would make not having Clint as her partner twice as strange.

* * *

Clint looked at his watch. He was on time for once. The only reason he was ever on time for meetings was because Natasha made him get up early for them. The corridors of SHIELD had impeccably shiny floors, that squeaked when you walk. We, when other people walked. You could tell the more experience agents by their light footing, and their practically non-existent noise as they walked. Clint didn't even have to think twice about his own.

He nodded and said a quick hello to people in the corridor, but it seemed that everyone knew he had somewhere to be. Not only that, but people knew where he had to be, as they kept wishing him luck. News traveled fast at SHIELD.  
When Clint entered the meeting room, Natasha and Fury were already sitting down, Nick going through files, Natasha glaring at him anyway. He just ignored her.

"Ah, Agent Barton, glad you finally decided to turn up." Fury greeted him, then looked up and him, laying the folders down on the side of the table.

"Nick, you're lucky I'm even at this meeting." Clint sighed and pulled out the chair opposite to Tash's. "Shall we get started then?" He asked, looking around, checking if they were ready.

"Okay then." Nick nodded and pulled out the first file, looking slightly bored. Maybe he was just tired of the resentment this motion was getting. "Agent Romanoff, you're new partner is Agent Kent." His eyes skimmed over Agent Kent's file. "Yeah, Cameron Kent, age 30, specialist in hand to hand combat and close range weaponry. Well trained, been apart of SHIELD for 4 years now."

Natasha nodded. The name sounded familiar. But was still unsure of the fact that he and Clint were, as it seemed, completely different. This Cameron guy was a fighter, on the ground, on the frontline. Clint had always seen better at a distance and kept himself there. This would be fun. Clint also nodded and Natasha, letting her know without speech that this was a okay partner, considering their predicament.

"Now, Barton, we're going on a whim here." Fury passed a file to Clint, who began flicking between pages, getting a feel for the Agent. "That is Maxine Jones. She had worked for agencies before but she is actually new to SHIELD. This is her first partnership and we're hoping you can teach her a few tricks."

Max, from her file, seemed honest and hardworking, so as long as she tried, Clint couldn't see any reason for them not to get along. Apart from the fact, she wasn't Natasha, and couldn't seem much similar at all.

"That's it basically. She knows of your interest of archery, and is very capable with knives and guns. Only thing is the doesn't know about your previous partnership together. I think we should keep it that way too." Nick said, gathering all his information together again. "You will meet your partners in an hour in training rooms one and two. You may leave now."

They filed out after each other in silence, soaking up the new information. The pair would talk soon enough, but they both just needed space now. Soon, their careers would start a new leaf. Clint just hoped he was ready.


	3. Chapter 3

The training rooms were Natasha's peace palace. Sure, other people used them too, but if she came into one in a bad mood and wanting to train, usually, most people would leave. Today, however, it was surprisingly full. Groups of agents stood huddled in corners, watching Natasha as she entered. She gave each of them in turn the dagger eyes she had spent her life perfecting, just to cut people off, make them stay at a distance.

Moving swiftly to the sidelines of the room, she dropped he jacket and water bottle on a seat, also lowering her duffel bag. She was slightly cold in her sweat bottoms and cut off top, but that was good, when she began her workout, she'd warm up. Some of the younger agents, around 20 or so, starting talking rather loudly.

"She'll be nothing without Hawkeye." One guy scoffed, crossing his arms. He looked slightly older than the rest of them. Some of the girls around him raised their eye brows, questioning his without words.

"Yeah, she's not that good. He saved her for a reason," He gestured for the rest of the people in the conversation to lean in closer. "I bet they were fucking." Natasha's head snapped up and a smirk flew across her face.

"No way, they're both too professional for that." A blonde girl said, looking over towards Natasha. She wasn't facing them, so they probably didn't even know she was listening.

"Think about it. She's bad, they fuck, she wants in on SHIELD, Barton pulls some strings, she gets what she wants. I bet that's how it's been working since she joined." The guy seemed arrogant, but not in a Tony Stark no-one-is-as-good-as-me way, more in a I'm-so-perfect-you-all-love-me attitude.

"Now they must have had an argument of something, because Barton wants out. But SHIELD don't wanna let her go. So, they split." As he continued speaking, Natasha circled round acting like she was heading over to the punching bag. Instead, she walked round silently, so she was standing behind him, hands on hips.

"Uh, Cam-" The blonde girl who had defended her earlier spoke, but she was cut off when Natasha tapped the guy on the shoulder.

He twisted around, smirking as usual, until he saw it was Natasha, and his face contorted with shock. Natasha's hand formed a fist, and using the other she grabbed his shoulder. She pulled her fist back and let go, letting it snap into his face, connecting with his nose.

The guy staggered back and clutched at his nose, that was now bleeding. He threw a lame attempt at a punch which she dodged and ducked. With a quick sweep of her leg, she knocked him down and he lay on the ground. She hovered menacingly over him.

"First of all, not that good eh? You have a lot to learn." She placed her hands on her hips again and she looked as if no fight had taken place. "Second, Agent Barton and I weren't fucking," She spat the word at him. "I'd rather him than the likes of you any day though. And if we were, it wouldn't of been any of your business, and would have no impact on any of our SHIELD statuses."

"Agent Romanoff?" Coulson appeared behind her. Shit, not many people could creep up on her, but he managed to every time. Uh-oh, she was gonna get an earful about this. "Why is Agent Kent bleeding on the floor?" He rubbed his temple, apparently tired.

"Agent, this man seems to have a - Agent Kent? As in Cameron Kent?" She looked at the man lying in front of her on the floor, the blonde girl from before helping him up. It all clicked into place. "Oh." She said quietly.

"Oh indeed." Coulson said, straight faced as usual. "Agent Lawson, take Kent to the infirmary. Get them to set his nose and check for a concussion." As they walked out, Natasha turned to watch them leave. Cameron was saying something about he could have taken her, he just didn't wanna mess up his new partner.

"Did I just violently attack my new partner?" She said quietly still in kind of a daze. Coulson merely nodded, standing next to her also watching her leave.

"If you hadn't gotten there first, I certainly would of." He said coolly, and Natasha turned again, but Coulson remained where he was.

"You heard that?" She said, pointing. She realised the gesture was rather aggressive and lowered her hand. Coulson nodded again. "So you agree he deserved it?" Natasha also had two people on her side, Coulson, and Clint. Occasionally Nick too.

"As his official handler now, I can't say anything. Although, I will say, it'll be worse than working with Tony everyday." Coulson joked. Tony wasn't that bad, and Natasha got along quite well with him, actually, but within 15 minutes, she could tell Cameron was a douche. Douches are hard to work with. This would not be fun.

"Right, well, as you just assaulted your new partner, and he is no longer able to participate in today's training session, you may be dismissed." Coulson, clasped his hands together and waited for Natasha to leave. When she didn't, he simply said "You're right, he has a lot to learn."

Natasha said goodbye and walked away, and as she did so, she began wondering how Clint's session was going. She wasn't sure if she wanted it to be going any better than hers.

* * *

Clint sat up in the railings above training room 2. He was early and Maxine hadn't arrived yet, so he sat up here observing everybody. Two guys sparring, one girl lifting weights, one guy watching her lift weights, three apparently obsessed girls watching him watch her, all making love dovey eyes.

The door to the training room swung opened sending in a breath of fresh air. Clint saw Natasha walk past the training room looking tired and slightly agitated. He would of gone out and spoken to her, if it hadn't been for the person who entered the room.

He'd only seen pictures of Maxine, but he knew it was her when she walked in. She carried a duffel bag on her shoulder and was dressed in sweat bottoms and a crop top, with a loose cardigan. Clint smirked. She looked like she was going to a dance practice. Looking from a far was his thing, he could make better judgements there.

Maxine had lightly tan skin, suggesting she had been somewhere hot recently, but as she took off her cardigan, tan lines on her shoulders showed her true colouring. She was actually quite pale. Her hair colour was natural too, which was strange. SHIELD agents usually died their hair a lot, just to throw people off there track if they had spent too long in one place. When Clint had met Natasha, she had been brunette, although, he did prefer it red. Brought out her eyes. He found his thoughts wondering and tried to stop them by going back to analysing Maxine.

Her blonde hair matched her eyebrows, and was scraped off of her face leaving her fringe down. Maxine's eyes were a light blue colour and she had light, but long eyelashes. Clint really could see better from a distance. It was only till she stood next to the guys at the vending machine while buying herself a drink, he realised she was slightly below average height. That made her look even younger, she could only be around 24 at the most, possibly 25. Clint began feeling old.

He thought it would be the best time to introduce himself, rather than wait any longer, so he walked around the back of the railings to a staircase not many people knew about. When he arrived on the ground, Maxine was now sitting sort of awkwardly on the sidelines, sipping a drink. She stood up when she saw him approaching.

"Uh, Agent Barton?" She asked, sounding unsure. Clint smiled and held out his hand. She returned the smile and grasped his hand in her smaller one.

"How about you call me Clint and I call you...?" He prompted. Fury had called her Max, while Coulson called her Maxine. She dropped his hand and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Max is good. So, shall we start?" She asked, looking round. Clint felt kinda sorry for her. She had no idea why everybody was looking, and thanks to Fury, she wouldn't find out. He didn't want her to know about Natasha, he said it was distracting.

"Yeah, lets go." Clint said, and he lead her towards the equipment he had set up. As they moved, he saw Coulson enter with a slight smirk on his face. He was supposed to be over seeing Natasha's training session. It couldn't be finished yet, what had happened?

Max obviously had picked up on his momentary lapse. "Are you okay? You seem ... Distracted." She search for the right word.

"I'm fine, really." He covered quickly with one last glance over towards Coulson, then trying to put it out of his mind. He reminded himself to focus.

* * *

After an hour of muscle and cardio workouts, that Max had been surprisingly good at, Clint took her down to the shooting ranges.

"Long distance rifles?" Max asked, picking one up and examining it. "I take it you're more of a sniper guy then." She asked, setting it down and leaning against the wall.

Clint took it upon himself to start loading the guns, but paused and gave her a questioning look. "Did you actually read my file?" It seemed she was missing quite a bit of information.

"Nope." She stretched as she spoke and clicked her back. "I prefer to make up my own mind about people." She smiled. "However, I was told you like archery. Is it like a hobby or something ...?" Clint scoffed and put the gun down.

"Hobby? No, it's a ... A lifestyle. Sorta." It was right. He lived and breathed archery. He felt lost on missions without it. Even on surveillance missions, he kept it on him or near by.

"Really? That sounds kinda extreme. I mean, I'm good with knives, but their not a lifestyle choice." She shrugged, and turned towards the targets.

"Oh I'm more than good." He said, not caring that he sounded completely arrogant. It was true. "Never miss a shot." He began walking over towards the weaponry section, punching in the code to gain access. Among the guns, knives and bullets, there was a single bow. No one else in SHIELD used it. He took it and an arrow too.

"Now that must be exaggerated. Nobody never messes up." She sounded sceptical. Max moved as Clint did, and folded her arms. He stood with his back to the targets, that although were meant for bullets, would do for a quick demonstration.

He fitted the arrow quickly and drew his arm back. If he let go now, he would shoot Max in the head, and she realised this, he muscles tense, ready to move. She wouldn't be fast enough. He swivelled round in a full circle, letting go at the exact moment to hit the target, before being brought round to face Max. The whole thing had taken around two seconds, and Clint stepped aside to reveal the arrow smack bang in the middle of the target.

"Wow. And that, that happens every time?" Maxine joked, but serious meaning behind her comment. Clint just nodded.

"So... You use that in every mission?" She asked, sitting down in one of the chairs around the room.

"Yup. It's not always on me, but I always have it somewhere." He said, walking up to the target and removing the arrow. "It's more useful than you think."

"I don't doubt that." She said, putting her head in her hands. Clint looked at her, she seemed tired. Maybe working for SHIELD was all new to her. She'd been working for the British government before, or so her file said. She had gone there after being selected from her high school in Ohio. Clint remembered the details, they were important.

"So, why'd you leave your last place?" He asked, sitting down opposite her. It was important they got to know each other, or else it could affect their work, badly. Although, he wasn't allowed to talk about Tash. And he really didn't feel like spilling his secretes about the circus he grew up in. Natasha and Coulson knew that. So did Nick. He wasn't ready for Max to.

"I grew up. They wanted me to stay their under cover teenager. I wanted to act my age." She said, leaning back and crossing her arms. That was a defensive position. There had to be more than that.

"But you'd been there since you were, what? 15? That's 8, 9 years. They had to be like family. Wasn't it hard to go?" He saw her expression harden and a memory flash in her eyes. She shook her head. He should stop pushing her, he knew it, but somehow he couldn't.

"No. I wanted to leave." She said firmly. "I wanted to leave." She was repeating herself, still shaking her head.

"Are you telling me or yourself that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd gone to far, he'd stepped over a boundary that hadn't even been set. He knew it when a tear rolled down her cheek, and she got up.

"I have to go. Nice ... Session." She turned her back towards him and faced the door. Then, she left.

Nice one Clint, he thought. Way to go.

* * *

The SHIELD lounge was empty when Natasha got there. Everyone else was on deck for an announcement. Probably about something stupid, like the SHIELD annual party. She slopped onto a couch in the corner, and sat with her head in her hands.

She'd asked around afterwards. The blonde girl helping Cameron up was his girlfriend, Robin. Even she thought he was an idiot. Natasha had thought about going to apologise, but thought, what's an apology you don't mean? She couldn't ask for a new partner, Fury would say she hadn't even tried. Plus, he was still mad about how she'd reacted to getting Cameron at all.

Natasha was distracted by her thoughts by someone entering the room. Looking up, she was surprised to see Clint, looking just as worn out as she was. He gave her wry smile and sank into an arm chair opposite her.

"Hey." He said, a sense of humour in his voice. She hadn't seen him since the meeting, and she really felt that this was what she needed. Just to talk to her best friend, who as it seemed, had a bad day, just like her.

"Hey." She replied, sitting back into her seat and crossing legs. She smiled one of those smiles where it's like you either smile, or you cry. Natasha wasn't good with crying, so she chose the other.

"How'd your day go. Bet it wasn't as bad as mine." Clint closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head. They always did that, compete that is.

"Try me." Natasha rolled her eyes and smiled. If Clint's really had gone worse, she'd be surprised. She was just glad that Coulson wasn't mad.

"I made my partner cry." He said non-interested, while secretly looking for Natasha's reaction. She was seemingly unimpressed.

"Well, I brutally assaulted mine, before I'd even met him or knew who he was." She stared at him for a second and he stared back. It didn't take long before Clint collapsed into laughter, Natasha laughing along too.

"Okay, seriously Tash, only you." He smiled, and so did she, but looking at the floor. "What did he even do to piss you off?" He asked, sitting up straight, hands on his knees.

"Oh, nothing, he was saying something stupid." She waved a hand to signal it didn't matter, but Clint saw through it.

"Nat, what did he say?" His tone suddenly serious. Natasha was pretty lethal, and kick-ass, but she wouldn't attack somebody without a reason. And now she wouldn't even tell him what had happened.

"Nothing!" Natasha said defensively. "It was stupid, I over reacted." She turned her head so she wasn't looking at him. She was worried that if she told him what Cameron had said, he would a) over react as well, and b) there was a part of her, that was worried that if he knew what had been said, he'd start avoiding her. It was stupid, she knew. It didn't mean that she didn't feel that way though.

"Natasha. Please tell me." He said coolly. Why wouldn't she tell him? What could possibly be that bad that she wouldn't tell him?

"He said ..." Natasha gave in, looking around the room. Any where but at Clint. "He said we were sleeping around. That's all." She focused back on Clint again.

Clint looked, well, mostly confused for the part of it. There was another emotion there, something beneath the surface that Natasha couldn't quite pick up on. "People have said that before. Well, implied it. Why was this different?"

She sighed, and leaned forwards again, resting her head in her heads, but angled it so she could look at Clint. "He said that was the only reason I got into SHIELD. Cause we were apparently sleeping together. I know it sounds like I over reacted but - "

"Well, yeah, Nat, it kinda does sound like that." Clint said honestly. Natasha shot him a glare, but not as severe as it could have been. She got up once she began talking again, using her hands to gesture, animatedly.

"But he was saying I wasn't that good, and I wanted to show him, prove to him that I was. I don't know why. It feels like now we're not a team, I'm not as good without you-" She was going to carry on speaking but Clint cut her off again.

"So you thought you'd prove it by beating him up? And since when have you cared what other people thought about you?" Clint looked up and Natasha, who was for some reason pacing around the room.

"I don't know... Oh, but Clint, he was so arrogant, I could just tell! Even Coulson said he was! I don't know how I'm gonna work with him ..." She paused in the middle of the room, and crossed her arms. Maybe he'd act more professional on missions?

Clint crossed the room to Natasha, and put his arms around her. Nobody else ever did that, hell, Natasha wouldn't let anybody else do that. But right now it felt right, and that scared her a little. "You're strong and talented. Don't listen to that guy. Don't listen to anyone else. Apart from me, listen to me." He joked and it made Natasha let out a laugh.

"Hey." He said, stepping away from her, staying at arms length. He'd completely forgotten what he'd came her to ask. It was a long shot, but he'd try anyway. "Today, I'm moving into Stark Tower." He smiled.

"Really? You're like, living there? Not staying at SHIELD anymore?" She asked, surprised. Natasha knew he'd been getting closer to the rest of the guys on the team, but she didn't know they were that close.

"Yup, Tony invited me. I get my own floor, like an apartment. Better than here at least." He shrugged, trying to make it seem like no big deal. "Also, he wanted me to tell you, that you're welcome too. To move that in, that is." He bit his lip, unsure.

"Oh, Clint. I don't know." She liked her apartment. She never got peace anywhere but there. In fact, three people knew she lived there. Clint and Coulson. Well, Fury too, but he'd never been there. "I think I'll pass." She said quietly.

Clint nodded. He understood. "That's fine, but let me know if you change your mind. I better get going." He smiled at her, then walked away. "See you around, Tash." He called out before he left the room.

Suddenly feeling exhausted, Natasha decided to go home too. That way, she could think in peace. Do something normal people do. Like watch a movie and eat some ice cream. Rather than stay at SHIELD for any longer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so it's been _ages_ since I updated. Sorry about that. I will be writing more, don't worry. ome reviews however would make my day. Tell me what you think of their new partners, although we don't see any of Max in this chapter, she'll be in the next one. Hope you like it!**

* * *

The bedroom was dark, but moon light filed into the room through the open window. A cold breeze was drifting slowly around the room, and Natasha lay awake, eyes wide open. She let the thoughts race around her head, about Cameron, about Clint, about the Avengers.

What was Clint doing now? It was his first night at Stark Tower, staying with Tony, Bruce and Steve. No doubt Thor was there too, maybe even Loki. And she was here. Trying to sleep, but kept wide awake by thoughts that probably didn't even matter.

It hadn't occurred to her at first, but after replaying the scene with Cameron that had happened earlier that day, she had realized something he had said.

"Now they must have had an argument of something, because Barton wants out."

Barton wants out? Did Clint ask to change partners?

It seemed ridiculous. Of course he hadn't, he'd been just as angry about it as she had. But that could have been just an act. That notion didn't make any sense, why would he possibly want out. Maybe he knew something she didn't.

Then a new though entered her mind. A thought that would take days, even weeks to get rid of. What if Clint had known he'd get Maxine? What if she was the reason why? No. It wasn't. Clint was too professional for that. It's why Natasha had never tried to go any further with their relationship. That and the fact that all relationships only led to heart break, or so Natasha believed. Why would she put herself at risk like that? It would only make herself seem vunerable. And in her line of work, that would be dangerous.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shrill beep of her SHIELD phone. Hesitantly, she picked it up, checking the time first. It was 4am, which only meant one thing. She was being called in for a mission, her first mission with Cameron.

"Agent Romanoff." She answered the way they had been trained to, state your name, then any concern.

"Director Fury." Nick replied. "We've discovered information on Doctor Orkel's work. We need you to go under cover at his press conference. We'll debrief you and Agent Kent properly when you get here." Natasha confirmed and hung up.

She grabbed her duffel bag and ran around the room, picking up things like her boots and suit, then pulled up the floor board under her bed. She'd be given weapons for the mission at SHIELD, but this could be trap set up by Orkel, and she'd be ambushed outside her apartment building. She got dressed.

Doctor Orkel was bad news. He was one of the scientist's trying to recreate the super soldier serum, or something similar. SHIELD had reason to believe he was close to creating something similar, but with more power. However, the government had tried to shut his research down, saying nothing good would come of it. He'd carried on anyway, hiding away until he'd finished his work. And now he had, and it was for certain he wouldn't be on the government's side. Which left the two options for him, sell his creation to other villains, or become one himself. SHIELD believed that being power crazy as he would, he'd sell it, and for a high price. Then somehow use it to blackmail his customers.

Natasha left her apartment in a white t-shirt, green combat trousers and a black un-zipped hoodie, an oufit that was comfortable, but she could change in and out of easily. There would be a car waiting for her three blocks down.

She was just about to walk around the corner of the corridor to the elevator, when she heard a noise behind her. She spun to see Adam leaning against the door.

"Where are we off to at this time in the morning?" He smirked. Adam wasn't dressed, he was shirtless and wore pajama bottoms. Obviously trying impress her.

"Get lost Adam. I'm going to work." She put up a hand to silence him as she walked away. When she got round the corner, she starting running.

Adam picked up a walkie talkie from the table by the door, and looked round the corner to see if she had gone. The elevator made a noise to signal it had gone down. Perfect, he smiled. "She's gone sir." He answered into the walkie talkie. "No, she doesn't suspect anything. I'll be sure to finish her off later."

* * *

When they arrived in Miami, Natasha was feeling exhausted. It was nearly 9am, and they had half an hour to rest before they had to leave for Orkel's conference. Cameron had been relatively quiet on the plane over, obviously annoyed about their previous encounter. Natasha hadn't apologized.

She stepped out of the hotel bathroom, feeling refreshed after a shower. She dressed in a white shirt, and a black pencil skirt. Something professional. They had been told that wouldn't need to fight there, only listen then leave with everyone else. Still, she kept the gun strapped to her thigh.

Cameron was just getting up from his sleep, sat on the bed putting a shirt on. He was muscular, no doubt he prided himself far too much on it. He was dressing fairly similar, but wearing a black tie and suit jacket, obviously SHIELD tailored. He put a gun on the inside of his jacket.

"Have you done any missions with Orkel before." Cameron asked, lifting his head to look at Natasha. She was standing in front of the small and chipped hotel mirror, trying to pin up her hair.

"Once. We had to steal some research." She sighed at the memory. "He was ready though, and ambushed us. We got the information, but barely. Agent Barton was in the infirmary for two weeks." She kept her face straight, but the memory terrified her. She was used to getting in and out without problems, but Orkel was sneaky.

"Huh. It isn't looking like we'll get in without difficulty. These passes better work." He stood up brushed his suit down. "We better get going." Cameron grabbed their passes and tossed one to Natasha. She caught it and put it round her neck.

"Let's go." She said, and opened the door.

* * *

Sunlight flooded through the window and Clint's face was in it's direct path, causing him to wake up blinking. It was one of those days where it was freezing, but the sun was still bright. He looked at his SHIELD phone. Nothing. He didn't have any training planned and there were no missions either. He was pretty sure Max didn't want to see him for a couple days after what happened before.

He rolled out of bed and into the bathroom. It was smooth and stylish, with a power shower, and a huge bath tub. In fact, they were so high tech, he wasn't exactly sure how to turn them on. But he was pretty sure he knew who could.

"Uh, Jarvis, could you turn the shower on?" He asked, looking around the room for where the reply would come from. He couldn't see it, of course.

"Certainly sir, all you need to do is ask." Jarvis's cool voice replied. Clint thought Jarvis was actually pretty cool. Although now the shower was running, he felt a bit awkward about undressing to get in it. He shrugged and did it anyway.

Natasha filled his mind. He wondered what was on her schedule for today. Maybe they could hang out. She was probably training. Actually, she might even have to have a make up session with Cameron, because of what she missed. He would laugh about it, about Natasha breaking her partner's nose, but it was showing the first cracks in Natasha's foundation. She usually didn't care about what anyone said. He didn't know why she did it.

He stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and walking back to his room. It was still quite early, so he got dressed and got out his bow, then starting cleaning it.

* * *

The conference was packed. And almost every person in the room seemed to be a member of or a representative of an organization that didn't trust SHIELD. It wasn't a great place to be, for Natasha at least.

Their passes had worked fine, and they took seats in the middle. If they sat too close to the front, or the back, they'd be noticed. They stuck to the left side, as it was closest to the exit.

Cameron and Natasha made simple chat about Orkel's previous work, as it seemed to be what everyone else was talking about. She only knew some specifics, but it seemed Cameron had done his research. Apparently, everytime he'd been close to a break through, SHIELD or some other agency had shut it down, and he had to start over again. Although, they never had enough evidence to put him in prison.

Slowly, a man in his mid-forties walked to the podium in the middle of the room. The talking stopped, and the only noise was pens on paper. He began to speak. "As most of you know, I am Doctor Lucas Orkel. I think it's be best if I give the presentation, and then we ask questions? Okay then."

Orkel gave his presentation using a projector onto the wall behind him. Natasha understood most of the science, but some bits she was unsure of. She just scribbled down notes to show to Fury later.

It seemed Nick had been right, and that he had succeeded in the formula, but he hadn't yet had a willing test subject. He said that the formula would mutate the cells making them stronger in every possible way. When it was time for questions, only a few people asked.

"Are you aware that the chemicals used in that formula could cause the person's cells to mutate out of control, causing damage?" The scientist pushed his glasses up his nose, in a way that reminded Natasha of Bruce.

Orkel sighed. "Well, it's obvious that it's possibility. But I remain convinced it will work. Anymore questions?" There was a silence. "Right, well, if you excuse me, I have work to attend to. You may exit through the door to the left, or the way you came in. Thank you for coming."

After a rather rude dismissal, Natasha and Cameron got up and began shuffling towards the exit with everyone one else. Cameron yawned. Suddenly, a tall man dressed in black stepped in front of him. He appeared to be a body guard. "Can you two please come with me?"

Cameron's face stayed plain, but Natasha could tell he was panicking, so Natasha stepped in. "Sure." She smiled sweetly, but still acting innocent.

The man lead them away from the crowd and down a corridor. Although it was empty, she was sure that there were cameras everywhere. But, it was either an empty hallway, or a room where they were hostages.

She looked over at Cameron, and nodded once. She leapt at the guard from behind, holding him in a choke hold. His breath caught in his throat and his face started going red. A few more seconds, he'd be inconvenience. "Watch my back." She whispered, holding on tight as the man moved and swung her around trying to get her off.

Cameron got out his gun, and the man slumped to the floor, Natasha let him drop and took out her own gun. Two more guards, who had obviously seen what had happened, rounded the corner, firing guns. No use keeping quiet now.

Natasha wretched open a door to a room, which thankfully was a janitor's closet. She ducked behind the door and peered round the side, where Cameron was fighting one of the bigger men. Once she had gripped her bearings, she took a deep breath and rolled into the line of fire. The shooting stopped, when it seemed the man had run out of ammo. Natasha smiled.

She lunged, throwing punches against the guard, and getting him in one of her famous scissor locks. A hit over the head knocked him out. Cameron had finished the guard he was fighting off. "Let's go." She said, somewhat aggressively.

They left the corridor, going back the way them had came. Natasha pressed speed dial on her phone. A car was on the way. Natasha went forwards to check the coast was clear, when a woman rounded the corner. She was wearing a pan suit, with her blonde hair pinned back. Before Natasha could turn around, the woman had her gun out and fired.

Pain surged through her leg and she looked down to see the blood running down. It was only a muscle wound, but it still hurt like hell. "Shit. Kent!" She shouted as she sank against the wall, the blonde closing in on her. Then a shot rang out and the blonde dropped to the floor.

"We have to go now!" Kent wrapped an arm around her waist and starting helping her limp towards the exit, when three more people, all dressed in suits, blocked the door. Two dove for Natasha, and the last one went for Cameron.

Before Natasha could even think about shooting, the two men hand picked her up by the arms, and started trying to carry her away. Cameron had to get out of there, so he could tell Fury what happened, otherwise they'd both be captured. "Kent, go!" Cameron hesitated, not sure about leaving her, but she used her head to gesture towards the door. He threw a punch and knocked out the guy he was fighting before running out of the door.

Natasha tried to kicked the guards carrying her, and she almost broke free, but one of the guards took out a syringe and drove it into her arm. The scene in front of her faded away as her eyes dropped shut.

* * *

Clint's mood had escalated quickly when he realized he could get every single sports channel on the TV Tony had installed on his floor. Big, and a flat screen. He'd spent the whole morning watching archery. Actually, he'd spent the whole morning watching archery and making comments to himself about how he could do better.

Eventually though, Clint thought that he should see what the others were doing. So he took the elevator to the main living area. It was sleek and smooth, obviously Stark made. But, despite it being so stylish, nobody was in there.

That's strange, Clint thought to himself. He made his way down the corridor, looking in different rooms as he went. Training room, empty. Study, empty. Art room, (Clint had no idea why they had an art room. Maybe for Steve), empty.

The last room on the hallway was the communal kitchen, and it was in there where everyone was sitting round the table in the middle. Steve, Tony and Thor were all clutching cups of coffee. It looked like Bruce had given Loki some of his green tea. Clint was shocked to see Loki smile a little as him and Bruce made casual conversation, but it looked like he suddenly remembered something, then stopped. No one else was smiling.

They all looked up when he entered, and some of them opened their mouths to speak, then closed them again, apparently lost for words. And considering he was in a room with Tony Stark, that meant something was up.

"What's going on?" Clint asked, looking around. Thoughts began whizzing round his mind a to what it could be. He came up short. Everyone apart from Loki and Bruce turned to look at Steve.

"Clint, maybe you should sit down." He prompted, gesturing towards the empty seat. Clint shook his head.

"I'm okay standing." Clint replied firmly. He crossed his arms, defensively. Steve nodded. There was a moment of silence.

"This morning, Natasha and her new partner went out on a mission." Steve looked down. "Only Cameron returned. He stated they'd taken Natasha hostage. She told him to go, that way Nick could know the information they found out."

The room seemed to start spinning. A thousand questions buzzed in his mind. _Why did Cameron leave her? Why wasn't he told she went on a mission? Would it have been different if he had gone instead of Cameron?_ But he only managed to voice one. "Is she alive?"

The silence wasn't like the ones before. It was heavy, and full of other people's thoughts. He could hear his breathing getting louder, but to his lungs, it felt the same. Surprisingly, it wasn't Steve who answered. It was Tony. "We don't know."


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it's taken so long. I was quite unsure about this chapter. I was a bit worried I made Natasha seem to weak, but then I thought that anyone would seem weak in this situation. Thank you for all the lovely reviews so far, keep them coming because I love them, and they make me wanna write. Hope you like it.**

* * *

Many times had Natasha woken up in strange rooms, and regaining consciousness was a familiar feeling. Pain was the first thing she noticed. A deep, throbbing pain in her leg was clouding her already obscure vision, and a dull pounding was present in her head from where she had been rendered unconscious by the guards. She decided to work from what she knew.

For starters, she was tied to a chair. It was completely normal chair, metal and simple. Her hands were tied behind her back with thin, but strong rope. Each leg was tied to a leg of the chair. But although the chair was completely normal, the room was not. All the walls were a bright white, and even though the room had no lights or windows, the white walls made it possible to see. With help of the white tile floors, that is, which were also spotless, apart from the floor where a trail of blood lead to the chair she was sitting it. It looked like she had been dragged. There was a mirror on the side of the room, no doubtly two way. They could see her, but she could not see them. She caught sight of her reflection. Her wild red hair was falling out of her bun and into her face. Her eye was just beginning to bruise, and her lip was cut and swollen.

Natasha remembered her leg then. She had been shot, but she could feel the bandage on it, and she was pretty sure the bullet had been removed. That only meant one thing. They were going to used her for something. For what though? The presentation they had just seen had been on some kind of formula to mutate cells. So what did they need her for? Some kind of help? Did they need her to steal something? Or something worse.

She looked up when three people entered the room. Two more guards, but different ones from before, although they looked similar, big and muscular. They other person who entered the room was a doctor, with a short brunette bob, and a pointed, innocent looking face. Natasha recognized her a Dr. Stella Norman, Orkel's right hand man. Or woman. She knew that behind that pixie like face, was a twisted mind.

"Ah, Miss Romanoff, I see you're awake." She said, she smiled and her bob swished around her chin. Instant dislike welled inside of Natasha. Stella's smile was too sweet, and obviously fake. "How do you feel?"

Natasha didn't reply straight away. She focused on glaring at Stella for a moment or two."Dr. Norman, have you ever been held hostage?" She asked, politely. She knew soon enough the conversation would turn more sinister.

"Once." Stella folded her arms across her chest, so her white lab coat pulled at the sleeves. She tilted her head. "Why?"

"How did you feel?" Natasha eyes narrowed, and she sat up straighter. Stella laughed, it chimed throughout the room. She releases her arms, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Not all that well, I see your point. Now," She put her hands on her knees and leant forwards. "Are we going to talk normally, or do these fine men have to say?" Natasha was the one who smiled this time.

"Now Dr. Norman, you and I are perfectly capable to have a civilized conversation without these two gentlemen." Stella dismissed them and they began to walk out the door. "But I know you're watching this. Any signs that I'll start kicking off and they'll be back in here faster than I can say - well, maybe it would have been a good idea to gag me."

Stella once again laughed, holding a hand to her chest in fake amusement. "Naturally dear. Although, gagging you only makes questioning you harder." This confused Natasha.

Apparently, they knew everything about her. It was obvious to guess what they had been here for, so what did they need to question about? "What do you need to know?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, keeping cool.

"We'll ask the questions, thank you very much." She leaned over again, so the face was inches away from Natasha's. She spoke in a very slow, patronizing voice. "Who are you working for?"

Natasha laughed. Mistake. Stella reached forwards and promptly slapped Natasha round the face. If Natasha's hands hadn't been tied, she doubted that Stella would have been so bold. "Lets keep the laughter and the remarks to a minimum please. I'll ask again, but don't make me ask a third time. Who are you working for?" She over pronounciated every word, in the read-my-lips sort of way.

"You know I'm working for SHIELD." Natasha replied calmly. The side of her face was stinging, and she was sure it was red. She made a mental note that for when she got out of these ropes, to be sure to repay the action.

"Ah, we know you used to work for SHIELD, but now? We're not so sure. You see we remember you, but we also remember your SHIELD partner. A one, Clint Barton? Also referred to as Hawkeye? Well, we want to know where your little birdy is. And don't lie, we'll know." Stella firmly tucked a piece of hair behind her head and waited for an answer.

"We got assigned new partners." Natasha shrugged. Stella laughed this time.

"You know as well as I do that your partnership is more ... complex than that. He saved you didn't he? Sent to kill you, but he made a different call. Why was that Agent Romanoff?" Stella was getting personal now, and that last comment sent shivers down Natasha's already bruised spine.

"How did you know that?" She didn't answer the question, but returned with one of her own. Stella stood up straight, and folded her arms again, but pressed a finger to her lips for a second.

"I wouldn't be very good at this if I told you how I knew everything, now, would I?" Stella smiled at Natasha, but it seemed malicious. "So, I assume, that you have left SHIELD, or bird brains would be here with you. Not that new guy. Agent Kent did you call him? Does he not get a nickname? Sorry, codename?"

Natasha always joked around calling Clint bird brains, but when someone else did it, it wasn't okay. "Don't call him that." She said pointedly. Stella looked confused. "Bird brains. Don't call him that." She kept her expression vacant, but somehow Stella saw through.

"My, my, my. Miss Romanoff, is this love? Is that why you left SHIELD? Couldn't handle seeing your lover in danger in every single mission? Let me guess, your work comes first. But, Barton's in your heart now, isn't he? He's woven inside and you won't - no, can't, let him out. You love him too much to let go."

This was sounding so similar to her conversation with Loki back at SHIELD hellicarrier, so she decided to give her an appropriate response. "Love is for children. I owe him a debt." A go to cover up, that now sounded less convincing when she was at Stella's mercy.

"Somehow I doubt that." Stella rounded up behind Natasha. Not being able to see what she was doing made Natasha extremely uncomfortable, so she began craning her neck to get a better look, only to have Stella's hands hold her head in place. "Now, would you like to hear what we have planned for you?"

Natasha tried to free her head, but Stella's grip only tightened. "We know you were here taking notes on the presentation. But, our information since then has been proven to be ... mistake. We have a theory that the formula could be a lot more dangerous then we have planned, so we thought, who better to test it on, then poor, defenseless, and sweet, sweet Natasha?"

Stella seemed to enjoy the sight of Natasha's eyes widening as the concept of what she meant sunk in. "We have to prep for the procedure, so this will knock you out for a while." Stella smiled, and drew out another needle, before jabbing it into Natasha's neck. Soon, her eyelids felt heavy and they shut, not before seeing the two guys re-enter the room.

* * *

SHIELD's hallways were crowded as usual, but the groups of people seemed to part at the sight of the Avengers, and Loki (in chains) walking angrily towards Nick's office. Apparently, people already knew about Natasha being held hostage. Today, the Avengers were there not to save the day, but to be there for Clint. Steve had said they were to go with him to SHIELD, or else he could end up doing something stupid. When Thor had asked what the Captain meant, Tony said that Steve meant Clint would be the shit out of Cameron. Clint agreed.

Clint was glad for the support of them team, but all he really cared about right now was Nat. The thought of Cameron just leaving her there made his blood boil and skin crawl. If it were him, everything would have gone differently, and Natasha would be here now, with him, instead of stuck in that place being - well, he didn't know what they were doing. But he could be sure it was dangerous. The uncertainty made everything a hell of a lot worse.

When the team reached Fury's office, Cameron was sitting in there, most likely doing the debriefing of the mission. Both people looked up at the sight of the Avengers (out of costume) entering the room. Fury rolled his eyes. Clint wasn't sure of Cameron's reaction, because whatever it was, was replaced with a look of fear at Clint grabbing him by the collar, as soon as he laid eyes on him.

"Agent Barton! Let go of Agent Kent, now!" Fury barked at Clint. Clint didn't let go.

"You left her! How could you leave her?" He shouted at Cameron, turning his own head to face him when he tried to turn away. "She was injured and in trouble and you just left!" He continued to shout.

"She - she told me to!" Cameron spluttered, obviously in distress. His eyes kept darting around the room. It appeared only Fury was concerned, all of the Avengers thought he deserved it. Even Loki was smirking.

"Barton, let go. Or else your ranking may be compromised." Fury warned with a firm glare. He was not messing around. Clint stopped shouting but didn't let go, he held on to Cameron's collar, looking at him like he was dirt.

"Clint, stand down." Steve commanded, the first of the Avengers to say anything. Clint turned to see Steve nod, and roughly let go of Natasha's new partner. Cameron managed out a whisper of a thank you, and Steve replied "If it weren't for the Director's orders, I probably would of let him carry on." Somehow though, Clint didn't believe that was true.

The room was silent for a second. Nick sat down and put fingers to his temple, looking like he was massaging a headache. Nobody really knew what to say. Bruce offered to take Loki to a more stable environment, and Thor agreed to go with them. They left to go to the SHIELD lounge.

"So?" Clint asked. "Are we planning a rescue mission?" He was now blocking Cameron out, except for the odd glare. His focus was on Nick, it was through Nick that they'd get Natasha back, so Clint would have to shut up and listen.

"Actually, there's a meeting starting in ten minutes. I take it you want to go?" Nick looked at Clint, who merely nodded, serious face on. "Then that'll make the team of three. You, Agent Kent and Agent Jones." Clint looked puzzled.

"Max is going? I thought she wasn't supposed to know about Nat and I? If we're going to get her, then she's gonna find out." Clint was getting fidgety. Every moment they spent arguing over the procedure, the longer Natasha was held captive. Who knew what they could be doing to her.

"It's a risk we have to take. But Doctor Orkel's facility is unmapped to SHIELD. We need you to get in and out as quickly as possible. Though, we have no idea what state Natasha will be in, escape my not go planned as easily as we hope." Nick was obviously frustrated. By the looks of it, the mission was too risky, and they couldn't risk losing anymore Agents.

"I'll go." A cool and calm voice seeped into the room from the doorway. Loki stood there, and Bruce and Thor followed shortly.

Clint laughed, but his face quickly retreated to it's serious tone. "Why would we let you come? You've tried killing all of us." He turned to face Nick, his eyes narrowed at the Asguardian. "Right Director?"

"Why should we let you come?" Nick ignored Clint, and spoke directly to x Loki. Loki's own face was serious, and for once, not contorted with the look of a madman. He looked somewhat normal. Nick's question, unlike Clint's, was not sarcastic.

"You can't be serious?" Clint's voice grew higher as he spoke with dismay. Loki? Going to help? He couldn't be trusted. And after he'd been inside Clint's head, he could barely stand to be in the same room as Thor's brother, let alone on a mission with him.

"Clint, think of Agent Romanoff. She could be hurt, unconscious, even somewhere near death. And as much as I hate to admit it, his stupid ass voodoo powers could be that difference between you bringing her back alive or you guys coming out at all."

Everyone, even Clint, knew he was right. Including Loki, who smiled and nodded, but his expression still seemed somewhat bored. Maybe he would coorperate. Maybe this was the chance he needed to redeem himself. But Clint still didn't feel he could be trusted. But it was for Natasha, so he'd bite his tongue and get on with it.

"Fine." Clint crossed his arms and muttered an agreement.

"Great. Be back here for five for a debriefing and then you'll leave at six." Nick sighed and walked over to the coffee machine. "Now get outta here." And they all did.

* * *

"You guys all clear on what we're doing?" Clint asked, looking round the van parked a block away from Doctor Orkel's facility. Max, Cameron, Loki and Clint were crammed into the back of the van. Cameron was the first to answer.

"We go in, knock out the guards, find Natasha, get out." Cameron smiled. The sight made Clint feel sick. They were here because of him, and he was taking it so lightly. Clint hope the plan would go as smoothly as he described.

Loki laughed. "You really think it will be as easy as that? If so, you are deluded." Clint wondered if he had done many things like this before, back on Asgard with Thor. Although they were probably called quests or something other than missions.

"He's right. We're bound to run into a few problems, but I think we'll managed. We'll grab a guard to interrogate if needs be." Max agreed. She had been quiet in the briefing and ride over there. Clint wasn't sure if that was because of his last encounter with her, (where he made her cry), or the fact she had no idea who Natasha was or anything about her, other than she was a SHIELD agent. Or why she and Clint had to help get her.

"Yeah." Clint took one final look at the people helping to rescue Natasha. He hated two of them. Although, Loki was growing on him, mostly because of the dirty looks he kept throwing towards Cameron. At least someone else disliked him too. "Lets go."

The van drove through to the gates, and towards the two guards keeping watch. When it approached, the guards moved forwards and to the van. Clint heard the murmured voices as the guards spoke to the drive. He was saying he was a delivery for the facility. The guards said they were going to check the back. They had planned this.

Loki got up and stepped towards the back of the van, where the door was. He cracked his knuckles and then his neck, obviously preparing himself. The doors opened and the two guards stood in front of it, both holding guns.

Before they could shot, Loki had raised his hands and shimmery gold dust starting seeping through the air, towards them. When the dust cloud reached them, they inhaled. Immediately, they both collapsed. "Assistance would be appreciated." Loki said as he began pulling the guard into the van. Cameron grabbed the other one.

Once the guards were taken care of, the van drove into the warehouse on the side of the facility. It was deserted. Clint loaded his bow and got out of the van first, followed by Cameron. Then Max and Loki got out.

"Anybody know which way?" Clint asked, looking round. Everyone looked puzzled.

"I say we split. Two go that way, two go the other." Cameron suggested. Everyone agreed apart from Max.

"No. We should stay together. Splitting up will just get us lost." Max's face looked serious, like she was trying to prove her point, but at the same time, there was an element of fear in there too.

"We have no choice, who knows what state Natasha might be in." Clint said pointedly. "Max, go with Cameron towards the left, Loki and I will go this way. If you find her, or anything else, use your earpiece. Meet back here in half an hour at the most." Max still didn't look too happy about it.

As they walked away from Clint's and Natasha's partners, Loki turned to Clint. "Do you think we shall find her in that time?" Loki's voice didn't have compassion, or any trace of care. It did however, sound very curious.

"I hope so." Clint replied. It was true. He really did.

* * *

Natasha didn't know how long she had been strapped to the table for. It had to of been around 5 or 6 hours. However long it was, it had felt like a century. Stella and the guards had been less than kind, you could say. They came in every so often, taking vitals and her blood pressure. A few times she tried to speak, but the guards had shut her up quick enough. She could taste blood in her mouth.

They had tortured her as they pleased, kicking, hitting, punching, even cutting her, when they felt like she looked too strong. Natasha found herself slipping away to daydreams while they abused her. Daydreams where Clint would burst through the door and untie her. In some of her daydreams, she'd find Stella as they escaped, and show her that she wouldn't be so brave as to hurt Natasha, when she could do something about it. Being honest, they were extremely unrealistic. She knew it wouldn't happen, and she'd have to, once again, save herself from this.

The room was incredibly clean, apart from around the table. Before they had stripped of her clothes and thrown her into an uncomfortable, blue hospital gown, they had dragged her in, and the blood from her clothes was smudged along the floor.

She was laying on the table, in the centre of the room. Everywhere else had various surgery equipment scattered around. There were a series of vicious looking tools on the table next to her. She was tied down tight, by her hands, feet, arms and legs. Natasha felt helpless. She hated it.

In all honesty, she had lost all hope of a SHIELD rescue mission to come save her. They were quick operations, and would have been there hours ago. She needed to calm down. Her thoughts of lost hope were making her anxious. She began to hum a soft, Russian melody she knew. Closing her eyes, she let it all drift away.

Pain coursed through he body, as it had been before, but know she wasn't noticing how low her chances of survival were, it was a lot more obvious. She let out a groan. The groan turned into a scream. It was shrill and full of anger and agony. She bet Stella was watching in the surveillance room, smirking to herself.

Soon, she stopped screaming. It died out to a whimper, which eventually turned back into the melody. Although now, it was rough and jagged in between sharp breaths in. She wished they would untie her, if only so she could curl up into a ball. She think she fell asleep. Either that or she blacked out.

When she woke, she heard foot steps down the corridor. Natasha braced herself. Was it the guards? Or worse, Stella? She forced her mouth into a straight line and willed the tears that had rolled down her face do evaporate. It would kill her for Stella to see her broken.

She kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling, even when the door opened. She wouldn't acknowledge her. Then she heard the devastated whisper. "Tasha..." For a second she laughed, but it was hard and spiteful.

"Great, now I'm hallucinating." She croaked to herself. Her daydreams had turned into full on hallucinations, and she willed it to stop. Seeing Clint's face as vivid as his voice had been would fill her with false hope. She couldn't afford that.

"Nat, you're not hallucinating. We're getting you out of here." We're? That was weird, Natasha though. Who was she imagining he was with? It hurt too much to ask, and there wasn't anything there to speak to, so it didn't matter. She forced her eyes closed.

"Natasha. Open your eyes." She could feel him hovering over her, like a vulture above a carcass. Her mind was playing a devious, cruel trick on her. Maybe it was a side effect of the injection.

Then something weird happened. The strap on her right wrist opened and she could feel her hand again. She flexed her fingers. It had really happened. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Clint was standing next to her, untying her arm strap, concentrating on that. Once it was free, she reached up and touched his face. It didn't go straight through him.

"Clint...You're here." She croaked, and then winced after speaking. Clint smirked and nodded.

"I wouldn't leave you." He replied. And then, she believed him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Merry Christmas! This is my present to you! I wanted to get it out tonight so if you guys wanted to read it on Christmas, it'd be ready. But, I did finish it late at night, so sorry if there are any mistakes and it may not seem as long as the others. I hope you like it, and some reviews would be lovely. I hope I can get the next chapter out soon.**

* * *

Light behind Natasha eyes stirred her into consciousness, but she didn't open her eyes. All she remembered was Clint lifting her from the table, and then blacking out. Who knows what could have happened since then? Did they get out? Where was she now? For all she knew she could of just been moved to another room in Dr. Orkel's facilities, and Clint could be captured too.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she still didn't open her eyes. She didn't open them because she was tired, no, exhausted, of waking up in strange places. It wasn't like waking up at home where she could take a while to wake up, her defenses had to go up immediately. Natasha was tired of looking weak. She wanted to go back to before.

In fact, what she really wanted was to punch Stella in the face. Hard. And kick her in the stomach. She wouldn't day dream about hurting the insane scientist, mostly because it probably wasn't good for her pyschatric health. But, until she got her hands on Stella, causing her pain would have to wait.

Footsteps alerted her footsteps. They were soft and quiet, but Natasha could hear still hear. She'd been trained for that. Who was in the room? It wasn't Clint, the person sounded tall and slender, not like Clint's build. It could have been perhaps Tony, but she figured he wouldn't be so light footed.

It came to her attention that she may not be at a SHIELD Infirmary at all. It could be another body guard, here to cause her more pain. Maybe a new doctor to poke and prod at her some more. That would be hell. Her lips hardened into a thin hard line and the person took a breath. It was a man, definitely a man.

Eventually curiosity got the better of her. She opened her eyes, and although she wanted to keep her game face on, and look all tough, but she wasn't aware of how bright the lights were. She blinked a few times before the person standing in the corner of the room face came into view.

Looking slick and slim, Loki stood looking slightly bored. He was wearing grey jeans and a long sleeved black t-shirt. It looked like something Clint would wear, and it seemed that he was uncomfortable out of his armour. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, as if he wasn't what sure what to do.

She sat up straight and immediately regretted it. Aches and pains she couldn't remember getting were now sore and fragile. She groaned tilted her head back. When she looked up, she narrowed her eyes. "Where am I? What happened at Dr. Orkel's facility? Were you there? Where's Clint?" She demanded, sounding as powerful as she could with her scratchy voice.

Loki lifted his hands in front of him, as if to say 'Slow down', and sighed. He looked up at the ceiling, as if remembering her first question. "You're at SHIELD's medical chambers. Once Clint and I found you, yes, I was present, we left. I had to put you into a magically enhanced trance, because you kept waking up, shouting, but you weren't aware of it." He folded his hands. His voice sounded bored.

"We made it to where the meeting point with your partners'. That Maxine girl, and your obnoxious and careless partner. He got shot, but we made it to the van. He's in the room next to you. Barton is asleep. Foolish man hasn't sleep since we got you back, but your teammates sent him to rest. I was sent to check on your condition." Loki looked tired. Natasha wondered how his transition onto the good side was going. It seemed to be taking it's toll.

"Could you send him here when he wakes up?" She asked immediately, and Loki nodded.

"I guess I should tell them you're up. Do you wish me to tell the mortal healers you're awake? They'll be bothering you a lot afterwards." His voice was tired, but somehow entertained.

Natasha nodded. "Send Clint down when he's awake, tell him to wake me up. I could use a little more rest." She didn't entirely trust Loki, but he

seemed to not be a threat right now. Besides, she really needed to heal a little.

Loki shook his head and laughed. It was a menacing laugh, like he was having a private joke with himself. "Do you really not see it?" He asked, with a real smile. Somehow Natasha felt like she was being laughed at, rather than he was just being kind. She didn't like that feeling.

"Not see what?" She titled her head and narrowed her eyes even further. Loki's long, pale fingers traced the door frame, and his green eyes closed for a second. When his eye's opened, they look sincere, if only for a second. They then clouded over with the usual mischief that overpowered his expression.

He looked up and a piece of black hair flicked into his eyes. "He's infatuated with you." And with that he left.

* * *

The chairs in the waiting rooms were awfully uncomfortable. That what Clint first thought when he woke. Where he had been lying, stretched out with his head and feet dangled off the side of the leather arm chair, the muscle's in his neck were all tense. Groaning, he sat up.

In the room, Steve sat with a sketch pad, Thor was sitting awkwardly, not quite knowing what to do with himself, and Max was sitting in an armchair just across from Clint. She smiled subtly at him. Clint stretched some more.

"What time is it?" He murmured, looking around. Steve looked up and motioned to a clock behind Clint's head, so he turned to look. It was 3:00PM. He'd been asleep since 7:00AM, when they got to SHIELD's medical base. Yet, he was still tired.

Steve bit his lip, as if he was making a decision. "She's awake." He said, looking at Clint. "Natasha, she's up." He repeated when Clint didn't reply. She was awake? Was she okay? Why had nobody tell him? He had to go see her.

"Why didn't anybody think to tell me?" His voice raised with anger. It made him angry just thinking that she had been awake, talking to people, maybe even discussing medical treatment, and he had just been sleeping.

"She told us not to wake you. But she did want you to see her when you woke up." Steve sighed, and turned back to his sketch pad. Okay, so apparently everyone expected Clint to react like this. "She also said if she's asleep, she wants you to wake her up."

Clint stood up, and started walking towards the door. "I have to go see her then." His hand was literally on the handle of one of the double glass doors that lead to the hallway of rooms, when a voice from behind stopped him.

"What's so important about this Natasha, anyway?" Max's voice sounded bitter. She leaned back in her chair, elbow's sat on the arm rests. "She's just another agent. Natasha's just like the rest of us." She sighed and blew a piece of blonde hair out of her eyes.

Crossing the room in two large strides, Clint hovered over Max. She looked up at him, somewhat shocked but holding her own ground. Her expression changed slightly, very slightly. With raised eyebrows and lips pressed together, it was like she was challenging him.

"Natasha is not like the rest of us." Clint hissed through a clenched jaw. "She's saved countless lives, and given up more than any of us could comprehend. If you think she's 'just another agent', you've got a lot to learn, because she is the best out of all of us." He turned and strutted out the door, straight towards Natasha's room.

* * *

Soon after Clint left, the yellow walls of the waiting room were making Max feel light headed. She hadn't meant to get into another argument with Clint, she just wanted answers, and it seemed no one wanted to give them to her. With the intention of getting a drink, she stood up and was about to leave, when Steve's voice interrupted her.

"Don't go after him." He said it calmly, like he was used to out bursts like that. He probably was, living with the Avengers and all. It registered for something like the tenth time in her head, that she had been sitting in a room with Captain America. It was a strange feeling.

Still, it annoyed her that he thought she was dumb enough to actually go after Clint. "I wasn't planning on it." She stated. Walking back into the room, she stood with her arms crossed. It wasn't a threatening gesture, but still suggested she was strong and determined. "What is with him anyway? I've heard about Natasha, but nothing like he's describing."

Blue eyes finally torn away from his sketch pad and met her own. Steve was dashing, no doubt about it. "I really don't think I'm the one to talk about them to, ma'am. Maybe you should speak to Clint when he's a little less on edge."

That wasn't good enough. Max wanted to know, and she wanted to know now. And even though it was rude, she turned and left the room without saying anything in reply. She carried on throughout the halls, looking for a door to step outside.

When she found one, it lead to a small and simple courtyard, only as big as an average bedroom.

As soon as she was outside, cool and crisp air surrounded her, immediately removing her heavy feeling her head had been clogged up with. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

What made Natasha so special? From what she knew, she had been caught when an agent had been sent to kill her, but instead she was turned into another SHIELD agent. For all they knew, she could be a spy, working here for the last, 5 or 6 years. Oh, Fury was so naive.

Max was just as capable as Natasha, and younger too. Hell, she had started all this when she was 15. She'd trained since then and never gotten a break. And Natasha got all this praise, for what? Being the only girl on a superhero team? For not being on the evil side?

"It's not fair!" Max found herself shouting out loud out of frustration. She raised to hands to her temple and massaged her head, her headache was coming back again.

"What isn't fair?" A cool and menacing voice from behind her made her jump. Loki, stood, leaning against a wall, smirking at her reaction. It was slightly embarrassing.

"None of your business." She replied, crossing her arms in front of her. Loki shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk away.

"Fine." He spoke so you could hear the smile on his mouth. "I guess you don't wish to know about Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff..." He remarked, as he began to leave.

"Wait." Max added, her curiosity getting the better of her. He turned again, and his mischievous green eyes looked at her, innocently. "Tell me. No one else will, and I don't know why." She said, lowering her arms.

"What do you wish to know, dear Maxine?" He inquired, circling behind her. Maxine felt as if she was a mouse, with a hawk hovering about her. A quiet little blue bird, and he was a slim and sly house cat playing with his food. It made her so nervous, her palms began to sweat. She loathed the feeling.

Max thought for a second. "Why is Clint so protective over her? How are they so close?" It didn't make any sense in her mind, unless a piece of the equation was missing, a vital puzzle piece else where.

"You know the story of how Miss Romanoff came to work for SHIELD, yes?" Loki had stopped circling now. He was leaning against the wall again. His voice was monotone. Max nodded. "Do you know the Agent that was sent to assassinate poor, poor Natasha?" His voice seemed patronizing, and it annoyed Max even more. She decided she didn't like Loki, but he was her only chance of finding anything out.

"No." She stated simply. It had begun to rain in the courtyard, and she pulled up her hood. Loki didn't seem to even acknowledge the rain.

"Oh, well one of SHIELD's finest really. Agent Barton himself." Loki said, playfully. Max tried not to look surprise, when inside she was gasping. "Yes, made the call himself, to save her. Seemed useful at the time." Part of the story was still missing, so she listen intently to find out the rest.

"After that, when they returned to SHIELD, they became a duo act. Partners in crime, if you will." Loki carried on. "They worked side by side for a few years, even through my, uh, attack. However recently, they were made to get new partner's. As to why, I'm not sure." He smiled and looked at her, as if to see if the desired reaction had taken place.

She let the story wash over her, with all new knowledge. "Why did nobody tell me?" She asked, not to Loki in particular. It was more to encourage the right answer in her own mind. "I should have known."

Loki stepped forwards, and reached down, placing a hand on the side of Max's face. "Now everybody has their little secrets, don't they? Even you, isn't that right, Maxine? Or should I say Kyla?"

A shiver, not from the pouring rain, shook down Max's spine. How did he know that? How could he possibly know that?

His smile widen at the look of pure horror on her face. "Yes, I know. I know more that you could ever anticipate me to, and more than that. I know you were made and trained, all for a specific purpose. I know how badly he hurt you. I know you ran away, and I know who found you. Because we all have our little secrets, right Kyla? And this conversation can be one of ours."

When Max looked up to stare at Loki, he was already walking away. Before her reached inside, he stopped and waved goodbye. Max felt herself sink on to the ground against a wall, letting the rain wash over her, and trying to let the memory of that conversation drain away too. It didn't work.

* * *

Natasha let her eyes flutter open peacefully. She was safe, at SHIELD, and so doped up on pain killers that nothing seemed to hurt as much now. It was bliss. And what made it even better is that when she let reality seep back into her mind, Clint was sitting at her side.

While she was still feeling rough, she was happier now than she had been in a long time. "Hey." She smiled meekly, and sat up a bit. Clint looked tired too, but he was smiling as well. "You didn't wake me up." She said, faking being cross, but she smiled again afterwards.

"I would have, but you looked too cute." With that, Natasha aimed a weak push, and he loosely grabbed her hand "Hey, you've been through a hell of a lot, no exerting yourself." He mocked, holding her hand, letting both of theirs rest on the bed, intertwined.

"If you think me pushing you is exerting myself, you ain't seen nothing yet." That made Clint chuckle lightly, and the sound wrapped itself around Natasha. When was the last time she heard that noise? A while probably. Maybe when she told she had punched Cameron in the face.

Neither of them spoke for a while, they were both caught up in their own thoughts. Natasha, for one, was dreading the debriefing for the mission. But, getting to go back to her apartment to rest for a while would be heaven on Earth. She might even get around a week off. If she was lucky.

"How are you feeling?" Clint asked, eventually. "Need any more pain killers? You got some nasty wound there." Oh right, she thought, where she got shot.

"No, I'm fine right now. Any more and I'll just fall asleep again." Natasha couldn't actually help surpress the yawn that followed that statement. "Actually, that might be a good thing."

Clint laughed again and it made Natasha's stomach flutter. It was probably just the drugs, she told herself. "I'll get the Nurse to give you some more then." He got up and started heading towards to door. "Maybe see about some food too."

"Yes! Food would be ... Food would be good." She had to tone down the enthusiasm, but she really was hungry. They hadn't given her food at Dr. Orkel's, so she hadn't eaten in a long time. Food sounded amazing right there and then.

"Food it is then." Clint smirked as he walked out the door, but she stopped at the last second. "Oh, and Natasha? Good to have you back." He smiled and left.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay, new chapter. Two in one week? It's a Christmas miracle! I really hope Natasha doens't seem too OOC here, and tell me if you think she does. I hope you like it, we find out a lot more about Max here, and it's talk about Clintasha. I promise, next chapter there will be more Clintasha moments. I just can't seem to give Natasha a break, first kidnapped and now... well, wait and see. Reviews make me smile lots and lots, and can really help with writing the story. I hope you like it.**

* * *

"Okay, so taking two of these pills every two hours, just to help you relax a bit. They make you a bit sleepy, but it should be no problem." The bald doctor with glasses around two sizes too big for him hovered over Natasha. She nodded along, smilingly. Faking it obviously.

She was in a wheelchair, just while she was removed from the medical bay where she had been held for the last few days. After Clint had a word with Coulson, she was now allowed to go home to rest. "Sure Doc, whatever you say."

Once the doctor had walked away, Clint came over, and put both hands on the handles of the wheelchair, smiling. "Why have they got you in this thing?" He pushed her along the corridor, both of them anxious to get out of there.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe they think I'm a boring weakling." She mused, and Clint chuckled and leaned forwards to whisper in her ear. His lips that close made her shiver, but in a good way.

"They may think your a weakling, but I'm sure these things can be pretty fun." He turned down another corridor, empty this time, but no where near the exit they were meant to be taking. Suddenly, Clint began to run, then he jumped, and Natasha felt his weight added on to the back of the chair. It still kept gliding though, through the long, stretched out hallway.

"Clint!" Natasha shouted, but she was laughing. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this immature. But it was nice, and it was peaceful. She wasn't worrying about the next mission, or about some evil over lord trying to take over the world. This, right there, was what she could focus on, at least for the next few minutes.

Natasha guessed she could have been focusing harder, because they didn't seem to realize the end of the corridor was approaching, and quickly too. "Uh, Clint!" She shouted again, and all she got in reply was a sort of "Uh-oh." Then they crashed.

It wasn't too painful, apart from where she was already bruised. She had fallen from the chair, and pushed it away to one side, while she fell into the wall. Clint toppled from the back and was going to land on Natasha, until he put both his arms out to stop himself. He was just leaning over her.

Reaching out to touch his face, Natasha smiled at Clint, who smiled back. "Natasha, I need to - " Clint was cut off by a coughing noise behind them. Coulson was standing there, arms crossed, not actually looking too surprised.

"I know you're both relieved to have Agent Romanoff back safely, but Agent Barton, you still have paper work to do. So if you could escort Natasha home, then maybe you could actually finish your work this time. Or even sort through that waste paper bin that is your desk." Coulson's voice remained cool and collected though he did smile for a second while talking about Clint's desk.

"Yes, Agent Coulson." Clint got up and pulled Natasha up too. Once they were both on the their feet, they started walking away, Coulson shaking his head.

"Good to see you, Phil." Natasha put a hand on his shoulder as she walking away. He nodded. Clint took her hand and began walking round the corner.

"Glad you're back, Nat." Coulson shouted, still standing where he was. In that moment, he honestly though Nick was mad. Separating those two, had been one of the worse choice he probably had made.

* * *

Max was cold. She was cold, even though she was huddled on her bed with two blankets. She was starting to think that she wasn't cold. Maybe she was just scared. And the shivers that ran down her spine, weren't from the lack of heat, they were from the words Loki had whispered in her ear a few nights ago.

Loki knew. How he knew, she had no idea, but he did. He knew what she had been raised to do, he knew what she had run away from. Maybe he knew why she had left and came to this sector of SHIELD. She had to believe he did.

Max's real name is Kyla Monteath. She was one when her mother died, and her father went into a state of shock. He was sure that her mother's death, in a car crash had been planned, by the people in the company he worked for, to stop him from leaving. He was wrong of course, they were innocent, as was her mother's death. But that didn't stop him.

He made up his mind to get revenge, in the best way he saw fit. Using his daughter as a weapon. He took her out of school, and moved a cabin he owned in Canada, in a isolated area. There he trained her. She was smart, and lethal, but not very good with thinking things through. She was taught to kill first, think later, and that's why she would never be as good as other agents.

When she turned 14 she and her father traveled to a resort where the company managers were having their annual leave. It was there that she killed them all, but afterwards learned the truth. That her father had made her kill innocent people. It hurt so badly, that she confronted him. She left him in the cabin by himself and ran away.

She carried on till she reached Ohio, where she found an old abandoned church. She slept there for a few days, going out and stealing food. Then she was found, and put into a care home. She didn't mind. In fact, when she got fostered, it was like having a normal family and life. She became Maxine Jones, and left her old life began, and to this day, nobody had known. Well, almost nobody.

A normal life was just the thing for Max, although she wanted more. To help people, but she wasn't sure how to do it. That's why when she was selected for an agency like SHIELD from her school when she was 15, she took it up immediately.

She had been working there for around 8 years when everything changed. There was an Agent there, his name was Cooper. He'd been suspicious as to where Max had came from, seeing as all it said in her files was from the ages of 14 upwards. He began to look into it.

When Max found out, she knew she had to Cooper had found out anything before she left, they'd have had her fired and locked up in a blink of an eye. So she talked to her handler about transferring, and he suggested SHIELD. So that's how she had ended up here. Max didn't really want to leave, but she had no choice.

So now Loki apparently knew, she'd do anything to make sure her past didn't get out. Even if it meant shutting him up, for good.

* * *

"Honestly Clint, there is no way in hell I am taking those pills. I hate feeling so sleepy." They walked up the stairs in her apartment block slowly. He laughed, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Natasha took a rubber band from her wrist and pulled her red wild hair into a ponytail.

"I didn't think you would, when he said to." He replied. Natasha knew he was probably thinking about all the work he had back at SHIELD, making him sulk. They climbed the stairs in silence for a while.

When they reached Natasha's apartment, Clint stopped outside the door, while Natasha fished for her key. She opened the door and stepped inside. "Come in, if you want." She called to Clint while she put her bag down.

Clint stepped inside and looked around. The interior was the same cream and light blue, but something was different. The further he looked around, the more sure he became. Being honest, Natasha wasn't the tidiest of people, but something here wasn't right. It wasn't the way Natasha usually had it, something was wrong.

Natasha however seemed not to notice, as she picked up some things laying around. Maybe he was just imagining it. It was Natasha's apartment, and if she didn't notice anything wrong, then nothing was wrong. He was just being over protective. No, he was just looking out for her. She'd been through shit already, and he didn't want her to go through more. At least not for a week or so, because God knows that this stuff always happened.

"Actually, I think I'm going to get going." Clint said, and Natasha looked up. "I have work to do, unfortunately." He sighed. Natasha nodded.

"Yeah, I need to get some rest. I'll call you." Natasha spoke softly, and smiled. Clint looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose. Her smile began to fade, slowly.

"Maybe ..." Clint started, but looked up and started again. "Maybe you shouldn't. Call that it. I need to ... think some things over."

He looked sad, but Natasha didn't pity him.

She'd been stupid to think that when he rescued her from Dr. Orkel's and then everything would go perfect? It wasn't a fucking fairytale, he wasn't a knight, and she was definitely no damsel in distress. She had spent her life saving herself and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. Natasha had to be her own hero.

"Fine." She said, masking her anger. "Go then." She walked towards him, as he was already by the door, she began shutting it.

"Wait, Tash, not like that." He began to speak but she cut him off with a door in his face. "That was not how I wanted it to go." He muttered under his breath and turned away.

* * *

When Clint had left, Natasha got changed. Her worn down, but still comfortable sweat pants had been calling and who was she to deny them? So she showered and changed. She let the hot water rinse away the stress she was feeling.

Towel drying her hair, she walked into the lounge, she saw the front door was open. That was strange, she definitely remember closing it. Had Clint left it open? Did he come back while she was in the shower?

Her defenses went up immediately, hands bawled into fist, in a fighting stance. Back to the wall, she checked the apartment. Lounge, empty, and so were the kitchen and her bedroom. There wasn't even anybody in the bathroom.

"Natalie?" She heard a voice calling from the lounge, and a knock on the already open door. Walking into the lounge, she saw Adam leaning against the door.

His hair was black and spiked as usual, and his skin was a tan olive. He was smiling like he was on an advert for toothpaste, in the so obnoxious way that Natasha had only encountered twice. Something was different though. He seemed, on edge. Maybe he'd seen who had opened the door.

"You've been gone for a while. How was your trip?" He looked around the apartment, and part of Natasha was still surprise at how confident he was. It was horribly annoying.

However the question made her smile. Oh yeah thanks, good. Tortured, shot, and then just had an argument with my - my what exactly? Best friend, with my best friend. "It was okay." Adam didn't seem to have seen anything, so Natasha assumed nothing was that wrong. All that was left to do was to get Adam out of her hair.

"It's just, I heard something like an argument here. Did you and your boyfriend broke up?" He said mockingly. He walked through to the kitchen area, of his own accord. Bewildered, Natasha followed him.

"He's not my boyfriend." Natasha folded her arms. Now Adam was helping himself to one of the green apples that she kept by the sink. Clint loved them. "And what makes you think you can invite yourself into my apartment, and now you're eating my food?!" Natasha crossed over to him.

"Hmm, maybe my award winning smile. C'mon Natasha, you have to admit you find me handsome. I'm better looking than your boyfriend at least." He smirked and took another bite from the apple. That pissed her off.

"Listen, I really don't think you're actually good looking as you think you are, and you're definitely not as good looking as -" She paused. Things clicked into place. "What did you call me?"

"Huh?" Adam looked up, and raised his eyebrows, confused. He put the apple down and gripped the counter, so hard his knuckles turned white.

"What did you say, just now?" Natasha said angrily, slowly stepping closer, till she was looking up at him. He should have look intimidating, standing over her, but somehow he didn't.

"I said, 'Come on Natalie, you have to admit you find me handsome.' Because let's be honest, I'm hot." He winked. Trying to cover up. But what was he hiding.

Natasha pushed him up against the wall, arm across his neck, cutting off his breathing supply. "You called me Natasha! Who do you work for?"She demanded, she pressed her body against his, so if he kicked or tried to flip her it wouldn't work.

Gently, she eased off his throat so he could speak, although that was a mistake. "Well, you caught me. I have to say, I should have let on sooner. I am really enjoying this position." Natasha grimaced in disgust and got off of him. She continued to hold him though, by the neck and collar.

Hoping to hurt him, she threw him to the floor, hitting his head on the cream tiles of her kitchen. He yelp and Natasha smiled a bit. Keeping a foot on his stomach, she got up and grabbed a cooking knife from the side. "I'll ask you again." She leaned over and held the knife firmly against his neck. "Who do you work for?"

He laughed, tightly, and Natasha flipped him so he lay on his front, hands help in place behind his back by Natasha legs. "I thought you would have guessed by now, Miss. Black Widow. And by the way, Stella sends her love."

So he worked in Dr Orkel's lot. "She says she misses you. There's no one to make scream!" He said maliciously, turning wildly, catching Natasha of guard, so she straddled him, while he clawed at her face.

Quickly, she turned the knife, so the blunt rounded end was in her hand, but also pointing down at Adam. With a lot of force, she slammed the end against his head. He stopped moving. Natasha checked his pulse. He was still alive, just unconscious. She moved into her bedroom, grabbing her cell phone and a belt from her cupboard. Without thinking, she tied his hands and feet together, and dialed Fury's number.

"Agent Romanoff." She stated when he picked up, and he replied in the same regulation way. "You're never gonna believe who I have tied up in my kitchen."

"Agent Romanoff, I'm not interested in your personal life, and whatever little weird ass kinks you may have." It wasn't often Fury joked around, but he still did sometimes. "Now what's going on?"

* * *

After really having hoped she wouldn't be back at SHIELD for a few days at least, her visit there on the same say as her discharge from the hospital wing, wasn't really how she wanted to spend her first day off. She'd talked over what had happened with Fury, and Adam had been locked away, due for interrogation on Thursday.

Shutting the door behind her, Natasha turned around and closed her eyes. Her life really was kinda hectic right now. First she'd been kidnapped, and then attacked in her home. It kinda sucked. A lot.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in, or the hawk, I forget." Tony Stark was suddenly walking down the corridor. Natasha had to admit, she did like Tony. She liked that he was cool, funny and stylish. He was smart as well, and despite acting like he doesn't, he cared for others. They'd grown quite close recently, so Natasha smiled as Tony walked towards her, in a sensible grey suit. He put both hands on her shoulders. "I've heard you've been through some shit. Wanna talk?"

* * *

SHIELD cafeteria, for once, was practically empty. They ordered coffee and sat down and a table by the window. Rain slid down the side of the window, and Natasha caught herself watching it. "So, how you feeling?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow, seeing if Natasha would actually give an honest answer.

"Fine, I've been through worse." She smiled slightly, an took a sip of her coffee. "I mean, you know how I feel about being held hostage more than anyone, and you were gone for three months." Natasha silently wondered if it was a mistake bringing that up.

"That was one of the best things that happened to me." Okay, now Natasha was confused. "Well, yeah. It completely sucked, and I still have nightmares and shit, but if it wasn't for that, I'd still be making weapons, there'd be no Iron Man and I wouldn't have met you guys." He leaned back in the metal chair and crossed his ankles. "But that wasn't what I was asking you about. How do you feel, about everything, new partner wise?"

"Oh." Natasha took another sip, thinking over an appropriate answer. "It sucks, but we have to get on with it, y'know? I'm just worried, that it means Clint and I aren't going to be as close as before. We've already had an argument, and I was only released today."

"Wait, you guys had an argument?" Tony's face contorted, then went back to normal. Natasha could literally see him working things out in his head. "I guess that's why he was being a dick at the tower."

"He was supposed to be doing paper work." Natasha muttered to herself, and shaking her head. "Yeah, we had an argument. Well, sort of. I just realized he obviously doesn't feel the same way as I do." Natasha's eyes widened and she prayed Tony wasn't listening properly. Too bad he was.

"And how do you feel?" He smirked, and pushed the chair back so it went up on two legs.

"I don't know. I - I care a lot for him. He recruited me for SHIELD, and we've best friends for years. But things have been, weird lately. We do things like mess around, and he holds my hand, but I'm not sure I want a relationship. I already have enough to deal with. I think that he thinks I do want one though, and he's worried about leading me on." She sighed. "I'm not really, ready for that..."

Tony smiled. "I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm not a good guy for relationship advice. I'm pretty sure if I was dating anybody other than Pepper, I would have been dumped a while back. But, I guess from the sad chick flicks Pep's made me watch, I'm supposed to ask if you like him. Do you?"

"I'm not sure. Sometimes, I think I do. Other times he makes me so mad I can't stand it. But either way, I wouldn't do anything about it. Not for a while at least. I've got so much to deal with, I'm still, apparently, recovering, and now I have to find a new place to live ..." Tony cut Natasha off. He stopped swinging on his chair and leaned forwards.

"Why do you have to find a new place to live?" He looked confused again.

"Because Dr. Orkel's company sent someone to ... well I don't know what, but my annoying neighbor turned out to work for them. I'm not sure if he was meant to kill me, or take me, or just find out information or whatever, but I can't live there anymore." She sighed. She really loved that apartment. It'd taken a while to get it perfect for her.

"Then it's settled." Tony smiled and got up. "Move into The Avengers Tower."


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry, it's nearly been a month since I updated. I haven't given up on the story, if that's what you were wondering. Extra long chapter today, and there's a big plot twist in there. I'm not how you'll feel about it, but I've been planning it for a while, I hope you guys don't think it's random. Reviews honestly make my day, so thanks to all of you! I hope you like this chapter, and I promise to try and update more.**

* * *

After one day at Avenger's tower, Natasha was already feeling at home. When she had arrived, Steve and Thor had come down to help with her boxes, but all she had was a big suitcase of clothes, and one box of personal stuff. It was much, and being perfectly honest, all she needed.

Then had Tony had showed her to her room. Or rather, flat. It was all one room, apart from the bath room, but was sectioned into different areas by arches. From the lounge, you could see straight into the bedroom, and the kitchen was conjoined anyway, as was the dining area. Natasha had to admit, it was all so stylish.

The room had light walls, with the furniture and finishings a medium shade of wood, like oak or something, she wasn't sure. The whole place was fitted with paintings, (fake, presumably) house plants, and the fridge was already stocked. It wasn't the same as her old apartment, but if she had to stay somewhere other than there, it would most definitely be at Avenger's tower.

Before she started unpacking, she showered and changed into jeans and a plain black vest top, and putting a plain grey (SHIELD issued) zip up hoodie over the top. She turned to face the mirror in her new bathroom, and used her sleeve to wipe the condensation off. For a change, she pulled most of her, now just below shoulder length, hair into a messy ponytail, leaving her fringe out. She'd clip it back if it annoyed her.

Once she had finished unpacking, she set off to the communal kitchen area, where Bruce said he would be cooking dinner. She had never had proper roommates before, and she thought that it would most likely be fun. Considering these guys were her best friends, and the most interesting group of people she'd ever met. Clint however, hadn't even said a mere "hello" yet.

When she got to the kitchen, she was surprised to see Loki sitting at the table, while Bruce worked away at stirring something on the stove. The two were making idle chatter, and though Natasha couldn't hear what, Loki said something that made Bruce chuckle slightly.

"Hey," Natasha stated simply when she walked in, and they turned. Bruce smiled, and Loki nodded. Polite enough for him, she guess.

"Hi Nat." Bruce said, "How's Avenger's tower working out for you?" He asked, while moving over to a chopping board by Loki. It surprised her to see that he was actually helping, cutting up some food to go into the sauce. Natasha wasn't sure, but it seemed her was trying to seem more interested in the potatoes that he was in her. Natasha didn't find herself caring that much.

Natasha sat herself down besides Loki. Even she had to admit, he was growing on her. She would never tell anyone, but he did seem to genuinely want to change. Of course she didn't trust him entirely, Natasha didn't trust anyone completely. Although, it didn't seem that Loki liked everyone. He definitely got on with Bruce, probably, because he was one of the least judgmental people Natasha knew. It seemed that Loki liked her, but she couldn't be sure.

As she was in such a good mood (for Natasha at least) she gave Loki a small smile, and said "It's great. Stark has style." Loki merely raised an eyebrow in response to her gesture and went back to helping. Good enough for her.

"I think we all know I have style." Tony said as he entered, winking at Natasha. She rolled her eyes, but still smiled. "Besides, anyone seen bird brains?" His eyes brushed over Natasha for a second, but in that brief moment, he looked as if he was asking her specifically.

"Not since he left for SHIELD this morning." Bruce had turned back to what was boiling on top on the stove. Some kind of sauce probably. "He said Fury called him in for something, and he'd probably be back late."

Tony sat down at the table to and sighed. "Oh. Sucks to be him, because we're having a movie night tonight." Tony leaned back and smirked. "You know, to educate our 40's Captain, and visiting Asguardians. Speaking of Asguardians, where's your brother?"

Loki shrugged and put down what he was doing. "I think he's most likely visiting that Jane woman." Loki got up and walked towards something on the other side of the room. It was the third time that Natasha had ever seen him in normal clothes. Tony had obviously bought him his own, because these fit perfectly. He wore skinny grey jeans, and a forest green, long sleeved top. Although it  
wasn't as elegant and classy as the suit he wore in Germany, it suited him. It looked good.

When he reached the other side of the room, he picked up a cell phone off the counter - oh, Natasha thought, his cell phone. "Yes, he is with Jane." He carried it in his hand back to the table, and sat, flicking through messages.

"Is that yours?" Bruce asked, curiously. "Hasn't that been going off the last hour non stop? I thought it was Steve's." Loki merely nodded.

"Since Thor learned how to use one of these, he is persistent to bother me using it." Loki rolled his eyes and put the phone down. Natasha gestured to the phone as if asking she could look. "Feel free."

BROTHER - I AM WITH JANE AND WILL NOT BE BACK TILL LATER - THOR

BROTHER - I HOPE YOU ARE BEHAVING PLEASANTLY FOR MY FRIENDS - THOR

BROTHER - I WILL NOW BE BACK IN TIME FOR DINNER - THOR

BROTHER - MAN OF IRON HAS INFORMED ME THAT WE WILL BE HAVING A MOVIE NIGHT BUT MY MESSAGE WILL NOT REACH HIM THROUGH THIS DEVICE FOR SOME REASON. PLEASE INFORM HIM THAT I WILL BE THERE - THOR.

They carried on like that for a while. Natasha stifled a laugh and Loki looked merely unamused. "I can see how that would be annoying." She smirked, but she was still thinking about Clint. What was this mission he was on? Was it dangerous? They hadn't spoken since she told him to basically to get out of her apartment.

"Well, I better go get Cap for dinner. Then we'll start the movie. Thor should be back soon." Tony got up and started walking out of the door. "Later." He said. Natasha watched him leave. Then she turned and watched Bruce and Loki go back to what they were doing. Right now she wished that she had brought some more stuff she needed to unpack.

* * *

Thursday's were usually an empty day at SHIELD and today was no exception. Clint had been planning to just finish some paper work he had been putting off for a long time, and now Fury had roped him in to do some interrogation. He didn't mind. And Max seemed to be in a much better mood than he'd seen her in a while.

They sat together in Coulson's office while he sorted through some papers. Max's hair was tied in a bouncy pony tail again, with her fringe out. She wore her SHIELD suit and her bag was down by the side of her chair. She turned to look at Clint and smiled. He smiled back even though he didn't particularly feel like smiling. He felt that after everything, he really should try harder to get on with Max.

Coulson turned around. He looked more relaxed than Clint had seen him in a long time. Apart from Dr. Orkel messing things up, they didn't have much on their plate right now. Clint hoped it stayed that way. "Right, so today you'll be interrogating Adam Taylor. Well, that's his cover name at least. It's your job to find out who he is, what Dr. Orkel wants, we know that he works for him, and what they wanted with Natasha."

Clint blinked. "What?" Max and Coulson both looked at him, confused. "What do you mean, 'what they wanted with Natasha?" He asked warily. What had he missed? Was Natasha okay? Anything could of happened to her and he didn't know.

"She didn't tell you? I assumed she would have." Coulson folded his hands. "The night she returned to her apartment, escorted by you, might I add, she was attacked in her home by one of her 'neighbors', Adam Taylor. She easily knocked him out and then he was collected and brought here. Consequently, she has had to move."

"Move where? Is she staying at SHIELD? Did he hurt her?" Out of the corner of his eye, Clint could have sworn he saw Max roll her eyes, and turn to face the other direction. However, he didn't care at this moment in time.

"She moved into Stark - sorry, Avengers Tower this afternoon. Considering you live there, I assumed you would have know? And no, she's perfectly fine." Coulson sighed, got up. He started sorting out the taping equipment for the interrogation.

Clint stood too, and it was clear Max was expecting this. She looked like she thought Clint was an idiot. He didn't care. "Is she in today? I have to see her." Coulson turned around and glared at Clint. He was obviously not putting up with this today.

"You can see her after the interrogation, and not before. Those are SHIELD orders, Barton." Clint didn't sit down, but he agreed, eventually.

"Well," He looked around the room, from Coulson, to Max, and back to Coulson. "What are we waiting for?"

* * *

'Adam' was handcuffed with his hands behind the chair he was sitting on, the only part of his body he could move were his legs. But if he tried anything, Clint wouldn't hesitate to knock him out, or worse. The man had olive toned skin, and dark, messy hair, and matching eyes. His was lean and tall - well, he would be, if he wasn't sitting down.

When Max and Clint entered, he looked up and smiled. If the fact he'd been spying on Tash wasn't enough, his arrogance gave Clint an immense hatred for this guy. "Play times over." He said and pressed play on the recorder, putting it on the table by them.

"Okay, so I think it'd be best if we get straight into this. We're not fucking around." Max said, and Clint was taken aback. He'd expected to do good cop, bad cop, but it looked like it was just going to be bad cop, bad cop. Fair enough, this guy deserved it. "We're going to ask you a question, and you're going to answer it honestly. Every time you lie, it'll get worse for you, so we suggest you tell the truth."

"And we'll know if you're lying." Clint added, and stood in front of 'Adam'. Max went and stood behind him. "So let's start. What's your real name?" Adam laughed.

"My real name? Jim. Wait, no, Jed. Wait - " He was still laughing, but that was soon cut off. Max grabbed a handful of his messy black hair and jerked it back. He gasped, and spluttered but it was no use.

"We haven't got time for your games." Max sneered into his ear. "Tell us your name."

"Jonathan. Jonathan Saunders." He answered. Max pushed his head forward so she wasn't craning his neck anymore, but didn't let go of his hair.

"And you work for Dr. Orkel, yes?" He didn't answer for a second, and Max tugged on his hair once more, "Yes?" She asked again, louder this time, looking into his eyes.

"Yes, I'm a spy for them." He struggled some more, and Max let go, walking round to the front on him. She stood next to Clint with her hands on he hips. Clint folded his arms. Now, it was his turn.

"What did you or Dr. Orkel want with Agent Romanoff." When Jonathan didn't reply, Clint started to walk towards him. Jonathan, however, looked down and began speaking again.

"We wanted her, as a spy for us. Dr. Orkel wanted to test his serum on her, make her the ultimate Agent for himself. I was supposed to capture her and take her there. But, I made a change of plan ..." Clint glanced at Max, who looked just ad confused as Clint felt.

"I watched her, like I was supposed to. I saw the confidence she had about her, the way she look like she always knew what to do. She was gorgeous." That caught Clint off guard, and his head snapped to look at Jonathan. "Her pale skin and her firey hair. And those green eyes. We only spoke a few times, but I could tell she liked me flirting with her.

I wanted to save her. From SHIELD, and from Orkel. I planned to pretend I worked for Orkel, and once I had captured her, I would tell him I was bringing her, get my payment and before he got her, we would escape together." Jonathan smiled, as if remembering moments they had together. Clint knew they hadn't had any, he was beginning to think this guy was actually crazy.

"Your insane. Literally. You said you only spoke a few times, and you were already planning to elope? Your plan, which was awful, and would have never of worked, would have failed anyway, with one little fact. Natasha didn't like you. She would never, in a million years, like someone like you. And save her from SHIELD? SHIELD already saved her from types of people like you, and we'd do it again." Clint said, keeping calm, although anger was bubbling inside of him.

"SHIELD was corrupting her. Dr. Orkel told me as much. And while she, according to you, would never like me, I think it's clear she doesn't like you either. I was there, watching, when she told you to get out. Did it hurt? Being shut out, when you were trying to protect her? She wouldn't shut me out, never. She just needed to learn that I was the best thing for her. I slipped up though, by letting on who I really was, and she looked at me like she hated me. I couldn't stand it, so I reacted."

"Shut up! You know nothing about Natasha, nothing!" Clint shouted, furious. "You're deluded, and should be locked up in a mental hospital. And she didn't just look like she hated you, she genuinely did. I can assure you of that." He glared at Jonathan, resisting the urge to spit at him.

"That's enough." Max stated. "We have all we need to know." She picked up he walkie talkie from her belt and called the guards in. They took Jonathan away, and Clint didn't even bother to look at him.

* * *

After the integration, Clint asked if Max wanted to go back to the tower with him. She said that SHIELD were giving her room to a visitor who would be staying the night, and she had been set up with a room in a motel. The tower had enough spare rooms as it was, and he felt bad about how talking to Jonathan had went. Coulson would probably shout at him for that later.

They rode the elevator to the communal area of the tower in silence. Clint was still mad that Natasha hadn't thought to tell him that she had been attacked, or that it was right after he left. He couldn't help feeling that he was to blame. If he hadn't of gotten so scared about the possible fact that him and Natasha could have been becoming more than friends, then she wouldn't have thrown him out, and he would have been there to know something was wrong. Anything could have happened to her.

When they got to the main entrance, the whole team, plus Loki, where scattered around the lounge area, watching a film. It was an action movie, with things blowing up, but Clint didn't care about that.

Without thinking, he barged into the scene and said "Hey Nat, thanks for telling me everything. About, y'know, your crazy neighbor attacking you, or you moving in here. Thanks, I can really see why we're such great friends."

The others looked confused, but not surprised. None of them could really blame him for blowing up like this. "Oh, and Max is staying the night, I'd really appreciate it if you could find her a room. I'm going to bed." And with that, he began to walk away, towards the elevator, but then chose to take the stairs up to his part of the tower instead. He heard Natasha calling him, but he didn't stop, he carried on walking.

Eventually she caught up to him. "What is your problem?" She asked, amazed at how he was acting. "I was going to tell you everything, but you were the one who said that I shouldn't call you. So I didn't, I backed off, and now you hate me for it?" She was wearing jeans and an old T-shirt that he had given her when it had shrunk in the wash, her red hair, scraped off her face. Her face was contorted with confusion and anger.

"But don't you think it would of been a good idea to tell me you were attacked? I didn't mean what I said so literally! Anything could of happened to you and I would of had no idea!" Clint shook his head, after imagining what it would feel like if she was gone, again. He wouldn't be able to handle it.

"What did you want me to say? 'My neighbor that I thought was just an ordinary ass-hole, actually turned out to be a spy for the very same person that wants me dead? Or worse?' Yeah sure, that would of been the perfect conversation to have on the phone, considering you've been avoiding me, Barton!" Natasha shook her head and balled her hands into fists, she was so angry.

"Barton? I'm Barton now? I didn't think that we'd drifted so far apart that we were on a last name basis now! Okay, fine, I have been avoiding you. And I'm not going to say it, because you know why I have." He began walking further up the stairs, but Natasha ran ahead and stood in front of him, blocking his way past.

"You know I didn't mean it like that. And you're wrong, because I have absolutely no idea why you've been ignoring me. All I no is I'm torn. Because I feel like I'm losing you, and the closer we get, the more I realise how I feel about you, and in the end, that's just like another way of losing you. So figure out what you want, because I'm done waiting around and acting like I don't care." She starting walking back down the stairs.

"Wait, Nat." Clint called, and she turned, still looking irritated.

"What?" She answered, roughly, blowing piece of hair that had come loose from her ponytail out of her face.

"Take this." He threw something towards her, lightly. I was a CD. "A copy of the integration today, I was the one asked to do it. Coulson wanted me to give it to you."

"Thanks." She said dryly. Clint turned and continued walking to his, so he would have to watch her walk away again.

* * *

When Clint and Natasha had taken off, Max had been left standing awkwardly in the corner of the room. They didn't look surprised, in fact, most of them - especially Bruce, looked tired. It occurred to Max that the Avengers probably argued all the time, but it wasn't often Clint and Natasha.

After a moment of one of the most awkward silences Max had ever been apart of, Tony spoke up. "Max right?" She nodded. "Well, Max, have you ever seen 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'?" She shook her head. "Then sit down." And she did.

The Avengers were an amazing group of people, there was no doubt about that, but no one ever mentioned they were hilarious. Tony had his witty comments, and matched with Bruce's dry humour, everyone was laughing. Thor and Steve's lack of knowledge was funny, but oddly fascinating too. The only person who didn't make Max laugh was Loki and she was keeping a close eye on him.

Around half way through the film, Loki got up to get another drink from the kitchen. After a minute or so, Max excused herself too. She approached the kitchen carefully, hoping to catch him off guard, but when she got in there, Loki was no where to be seen. Then as she turned around leave, Loki was standing by the closed door.

"Hello Kyla." He smiled, but dryly. "Planning to take me out while no one is looking? Sounds like the way your father trained you."

She took a smooth step towards him, and pushed him up against the wall. He looked, honestly, bored. There was no trace of fear in his eyes. "First of all, don't call me that, secondly, don't talk about my father."

"Why? It is your name after all." He smirked. "And I have no intention of bringing up your father again. Well, not in this conversation at least. But I'm afraid there are something you don't seem to understand."

Max let go of Loki, and stepped away. "Oh yeah, like what?" She raised an eyebrow, and didn't take her eyes off him once.

"You seem to be under the impression, that I am the enemy here. But that is not true. I want nothing more than to return home and stay there. Unfortunately, I can't do that until I have proven myself worthy. So that is what I am doing." He turned around and started fixing a drink.

"Right now, the only person I can see causing any trouble, is you. I told you I know about your past, because I wonder about your intentions for the future. So, if you plan on doing anything to my brother or any of his friends, I will know." He took a sip of what looked like vodka and coke.

"It's not me you should be looking out for." She began to walk out of the room. "By past is my business, and I want it to say that way. If you plan on telling anybody, there are no lengths I won't go to, to stop you." She turned to face him. "Even if it means doing something I swore I'd never do ... again."


	9. Chapter 9

**Pretty pleased with the timing of when I got this chapter out. I'm starting to think the characters are a bit OOC but you can be the judge of that. By the way, if any of you are interested, this is my tumblr url. **

**Tumblr url : missingthetarget**

**Also, it is 3:45am now, when I am finishing editting this, so if there are any mistakes blame it on that. Reviews are very welcome, and give me energy to write. Tell me what you think of this chapter, or any ideas for it. Thank you for all the lovely reviews I have so far, I can help but smile when I read them. Other than that, enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Natasha sat cross legged on her bed at Avengers Tower. A stunned silence had washed over her. Unsure of what she had just heard, her fingers skimmed over the laptop buttons and she pressed play again.

_"Your insane. Literally. You said you only spoke a few times, and you were already planning to elope? Your plan, which was awful, and would have never of worked, would have failed anyway, with one little fact. Natasha didn't like you. She would never, in a million years, like someone like you. And save her from SHIELD? SHIELD already saved her from types of people like you, and we'd do it again."_

The well known sound of Clint's voice ran through her head phones and coursed through her mind. She missed talking to him, when they weren't shouting. Pulling her knees to her chest and holding them tightly, she listened more intently.

_"And while she, according to you, would never like me, I think it's clear she doesn't like you either. I was there, watching, when she told you to get out. Did it hurt? Being shut out, when you were trying to protect her? She wouldn't shut me out, never."_

Cameron's voice was the one that spoke this time. Hatred boiled in side of her. He was so delusional to think that she had seen anything in him other than arrogance and ignorance. So full of himself that he couldn't see the truth in anything. Or maybe he was just literally insane.

_"Shut up! You know nothing about Natasha, nothing!"_

Clint's voice was full of rage, and even though it was her second time hearing it, her heart still jumped at the anger in his tone. It sounded like Natasha was the most important thing to him. Too bad he didn't act like it now.

Natasha sighed and put her laptop away. Tugging the earphones out of her ears, she laid back against her pillow and stared at the ceiling. Right now, after a what had been the first calm day she'd experienced in a while (until Clint returned, that is) she just wanted to sleep. But pictures of her previous partner plagued her mind.

And while she wanted sleep, she wanted Clint too. She wanted his comforting smell of aftershave and coffee. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. But mostly she just wanted to talk to him again. To talk to him like nothing was wrong, and to laugh and joke. But she'd given him a choice. To come and see her when he had figured out what he wanted. That was up to him.

So instead of seeing him, she stared, eyes open, towards the ceiling waiting for sleep to take over her. She wasn't sure when, but at some point she did fall asleep.

* * *

When Natasha woke up, sunlight was pouring through gaps in the curtains. It was probably what had woke her in the first place, but it felt nice on her face. She tried closing her eyes and drifting back to sleep, but as always with Natasha, when she was awake, she was awake.

She pulled herself reluctantly, out of the warm nest of blankets on her bed, and dragged herself towards the bathroom. She stripped out of her T-shirt and turned the shower on nearly full heat. The whole bathroom steamed up, but it gave her a head a fresh and clean feeling. Natasha was unsure of how long she had spent in there, but it was long enough for all the shampoo and soap to drift down the drain.

After dressing in light grey sweat pants and a white T-shirt, she made her way down to the communal kitchen. To her surprise, it was empty apart from Steve, who was sipping a coffee while reading a newspaper. Then she realised that it was around half past seven in the morning, and that no body else in the tower would be up, apart from her and the soldier.

"Morning Cap'." Natasha spoke first, mono tone, while pouring her own coffee. She was pretty sure everybody had heard her arguing with Clint the night before. That was embarrassing.

"Hey Nat. Sleep well?" Steve mused, folding the paper and putting it on the counter. Natasha shook her head. "I'm not surprised. What happened with Clint still on your mind?"

Natasha smirked. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I told him I was done waiting around. Finished with letting him make an idiot out of me." She cupped her coffee mug in her hands, grateful for the warmth of it.

Before Steve could reply, foot steps from down the corridor sounded. They both turned to look at the door. Max entered, wearing just a rather large T-shirt. It wasn't her's, Natasha could tell that much. In fact, that shirt did look familiar. She was sure it had been one of Steve's.

Turning away from Max to look at Steve, she couldn't stop from raising an eyebrow. "Really Steve? Really?" She said sarcastically.

"No!" Steve blushed furiously. "She didn't have anything to sleep in, so I lent her a T-shirt. I would have asked to borrow some stuff from you, but you and Clint had already ... y'know."

Natasha didn't know whether to laugh, or turn and give Max the death stare. These were her friends. She'd already taken her partner, and basically her job, seeing as Natasha seemed to be being called in less and less lately. But these were her best friends, her new home and her life. If Max infiltrated that, Natasha would have nothing left.

So, after thinking it through thoroughly, she turned and gave Max the death stare. "Oooh, someone's icy this morning. Any chance that could be because of the lover's tiff last night?" Max teased.

That stumped Natasha. She'd only met Max a couple of times, but that wasn't the Max that she remembered. Max had seemed kind, and thoughtful, although not afraid to get what she wanted. Now she just seemed like a bitch. What could of happened between when they last met, and now, to make her act so different? That was okay, Natasha thought, she was good at handling bitches.

"No, but someone's not wearing much this morning. A lame attempt to impress our Captain?" She emphasized the word our. "It won't work. I think he has better taste."

"Natasha!" Steve look horrified, but Natasha turned and smiled at him. "That was completely unnecessary." He looked disappointed in her, which, on any other morning it would hurt, but now she just wanted to rip into Max.

"What was unnecessary?" Pepper Potts asked, walking into the room. She hadn't seen Pepper in a while, she was a very busy women, but also a great friend. "Hi Nat, Steve." She smiled at them, and then turned to Max. "And you are?" Her voice was polite, but firm.

"I'm Max, Clint's new partner." Pepper looked over to Natasha, who deliberately turned to Max, and retreated back into death stare mode. A signal that this was not a friend. Well, not to Natasha at least.

Pepper held out her hand and Max took it, then smiled sweetly. "Oh, pleasure to meet you." Pepper's business voice was evident.

"Yeah, you too. I think you'll be seeing much more of me lately." Max turned slightly and grinned at Natasha. Annoying was not a strong enough word for this girl.

Pepper smiled weakly back. "Really? Oh well, I guess that's a good thing. I mean you have a lot to learn." The smile fell from Max's face, and simultaneously, one grew on Natasha.

"A lot to learn about what?" She still sounded sickly sweet and polite, but her face was less kind now.

"Well, you are taking over from the best, aren't you? I think I remember Coulson saying something like, Natasha was the best SHIELD has to offer?" Pepper still smiled, and walked around to stand next to Natasha. "Oh, with Clint of course. A least that makes up for where some areas are ... lacking in your new team."

"That's enough." Steve said from the back of the room, where he was standing with his arms crossed. "Come on Max, I think it's time you headed back to SHIELD. As for you two," He turned to look at Natasha and Pepper, but Pepper was perfectly at holding her own. Steve backed off with one look. "Natasha, just meet me in the gym in half an hour."

Natasha nodded and Steve and Max left the room. Natasha and Pepper sat down at the table, waiting for about all of two seconds, before the dissolved into laughter. "Well, she seems like a bitch." Pepper said afterwards.

"I don't understand. I didn't like her from the beginning, as I'm sure you probably guessed. But I saw her last night, and she seemed kinda nice. And now, she's acting all high and mighty. It's like something happened to change her over night. A sudden ego boost and now she's amazing." Natasha shook her head. It didn't make any sense.

"That was Steve's T-shirt right?" Pepper asked, while taking out her pinned up, strawberry blonde locks. "Do you think they ... well, y'know?" She asked smiling. For Natasha, Pepper was the only person she ever gossiped to. But it just came naturally in moments like this.

"He said they didn't. But it would make sense. If you sleep with Captain America, you're obviously going to feel a little self riotous. I'll ask him about it later. Maybe the inner cow just worked it's way out last night." Natasha smirked.

* * *

Clint didn't know what to do with himself. He was up and awake, but he didn't want to leave his floor incase he ran into Natasha. It was around half eight, and he wasn't sure who would be up. None the less, he eventually decided to go down to Tony and Bruce's lab, in hopes of finding some company there.

Which he did. After managing to avoid Natasha on the way down the the labs, he typed in the password and walked forwards. As well as being a place to work, Tony's labs were open to anybody.

Tony was sitting at a metal desk, tinkering with something Clint wasn't quite sure he understood. Bruce was sitting, not to far away, looking through a microscope. He was sitting on a wheely chair, and kept pushing himself between two desks, one with the microscope and another with a notebook that he kept scribbling notes down in. To Clint's surprise, there was a third person in the room. Loki sat in the corner of room, on a ledge poking out of the wall. He was reading poetry.

"Hey." Clint said as a casual greeting. Only Bruce looked up, and he smiled. Loki just ignored him, and Tony muttered a 'hey' before spewing some science stuff to Bruce. Who replied with just more science stuff.

"So you screwed up last night, huh?" Tony asked, after he'd put down what he was doing, and wiping his greasy hands on a towel. He gestured for Clint to sit down.

Clint took the seat and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." He paused. "I want to see her and I want to talk to her, but I don't know how, or what to say." Clint put his head on the workbench. He was just surprised Natasha didn't hate him yet.

"Just say you're sorry and that's all your fault. That's what all women want to hear, right?" Tony gestured with a tool in his hand and Bruce shook his head, smirking.

"Not Natasha." Loki said from the corner. It hadn't looked like he'd even been paying attention to their conversation, but was looked confused when the three other men turned to face him. "She's not nearly as simple or naive as other women." He continued to read.

"Since when have you called her Natasha? And since when did you know Natasha like you're best friends?" Clint knew he sounded bitter, but he couldn't help it. He was annoyed, mostly at himself, and he didn't need a self-riotous god messing him around.

"What else am I to call her? And anyone who has had a conversation of any length with her would know that she isn't as impressionable and dimwitted as most Midguardian women." Loki rolled his eyes.

"Look, Clint, we get you're upset. Just don't take it out on us. Why don't you go and talk to her?" Bruce got up and walked over to a mini fridge in the corner. He reached in and grabbed a bottle of mineral water.

Clint put his head in his hands again. "What would I even say? 'Tasha, I'm sorry for being an asshole. I'm sorry for leading you on into thinking I'm ready for a relationship, when I'm actually I'm not ready.' I'm not sorry though. Because I don't even think she's ready either. We both don't know what we want. Hell, I don't even know what I feel, let alone what she does!" He hit his fist against the table.

"Easy." Tony said, without looking up from what he was doing. "You care for her, and she cares for you, but you guys don't even know if it could be more, because it was never okay for you guys to be more than partners. I say, let the tension go, and just let what happens, happen."

"Well it sounds like it makes sense when you put it like that." Clint closed his eyes in a lame attempt to clear his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna go and talk to - "

He was cut off by the shrill beeping coming from his SHIELD phone. He rolled his eyes and signaled for them to be quiet and business like. Not that it meant anything to Tony. "Agent Barton." He answered.

"Agent Coulson. We need you in, now. We've located Dr. Stella Norman's smaller facility. Although we're still unsure of Dr. Orkel's where-abouts, our aim is to capture Dr. Norman and interrogate her." Coulson's voice was cool and steady, though Clint could hear the urgency in his voice.

"Sure thing, Coulson. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Clint gestured to the guys that he had to go, and started to walk out.

"Wait, Barton. There's one more thing." Clint paused by the door, confused. The other men in the room looked equally as puzzled. "This mission is vital and has to run smoothly. You'll be working with Agent Romanoff for this one."

* * *

Natasha got to the training room before Steve, and took the opportunity to have a go at the punching bag, and generally take out all her issues on it.

Bam. One hit, and another. Left, right, double left. There wasn't much reasoning to her punches, or tactic, but she was hitting hard. She was thankful she took the time to wrap her hands before hand or her knuckles would be torn about. They were hurting anyway.

One for Max, she hit it. One for Clint being an ass. One for Cameron being a dick about her. One for Fury for splitting her and Clint up in the first place. One for -

"Ahem." Steve was leaning against the side of the door, smiling at her efforts against the bag. She may not have been a super soldier, but she was strong, and quick. "Doing good, Nat." She stopped, and breathing heavily walked over to her water bottle. She took a long sip.

"It's just ... relieving some tension." Natasha shrugged. "I take it you didn't me here to just train?" She asked. Steve shook his head.

"No, no really." He walked over towards one of the benches in the room, and gestured for her to sit next to him. "All of this, it's really taken a toll, hasn't it?" He clasped his hands together.

Natasha smirked. "If by, 'all of this' you mean, my life at the moment, then yes. It has. But I'll be fine soon enough. Everything just needs to get back to being relatively normal." She took an elastic band from her wrist and tied up her hair, in a short ponytail.

"And by 'everything' you mean, you and Clint." It wasn't a question but a statement. It seemed all the Avengers knew about her and Clint. Part of her felt annoyed. It wasn't any of their business, and the less people to know the better. On the other hand, apart from Tony, she couldn't recall discussing it with anyone else, yet they all knew anyway. So it was either Tony was a rather large gossip, Clint had told them all, or that's the way good friends were. They didn't need anyone to tell them. After only having experienced that with one person in her life, having people she was this close to in a wider circle was strange. But she liked it.

"Yes. That is precisely what I mean. It doesn't even have to go back to strictly normal, I just want a conversation where one of us isn't screaming." She paused and there was an awkward silence. "Steve? Can I ask you something?"

Steve looked puzzled, but smiled anyway. "Sure, go ahead." Natasha bit her lip. She was quite sure she would regret asking this. Although the look on Steve's face might have just been worth it.

"Did you sleep with Max?" She asked, completely straight faced.

"Did I what? No, I told you this morning, no I didn't." Steve was a light shade of pink, the colour just dusted on his cheeks. "I think she might have wanted to. You know I'm quite an oblivious guy, but I think she was dropping hints. I felt uncomfortable, so I gave her a T-shirt and told her I needed a good night's sleep."

Natasha bit the insides on her cheeks to keep from laughing, and thankfully, it succeeded. "Good. I mean, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I don't particularly like her." Steve chuckled.

"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that this morning." He stopped. "Just don't go too harsh on her. I have a feeling she's been through a bit recently." Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"She's been through a bit recently? _She's_ been through a bit recently? Steve, I was split from my partner, then got an asshole as a new one, then shot, then kidnapped, then tortured, then attacked in my own home, and now I'm in an argument with my best friend." She smiled, if only to show Steve she wasn't being entirely serious and moody.

"Well, we can't all be as tough as you now, can we?" He laughed again, and the sound was infectious, soon echoing through Natasha as well.

There was a knock on the training room door and both of their head's snapped up. Before Natasha or Steve could do anything, Clint stepped inside the room. "Clint." Natasha said. It wasn't a greeting, more out of surprise then anything else.

"Hey, sorry, but it's important." His voice was rough, and Natasha could tell that it was, whatever it was, important. Not just to him, but to her too. "SHIELD have found Dr. Norman, Stella. They're sending us in to get her."

Natasha froze, even though she hadn't made an attempt to move. They had found _her_. The woman who tortured her, and made her wail, and weep, and scream. Then something else registered in her mind. "What do you mean, 'us'?" She asked, getting up and walking towards him.

"I mean us, as in Hawkeye and Black Widow. No Max, no Cameron. They don't want this to go badly, so they're sending _us_. It's probably just this one mission, but it's probably our last. We need to leave, now." Clint wanted to reach out and grab her hands, but didn't because of their audience (the Captain) watching.

Natasha nodded. "Come on then." She said, smiling and walking past. She knew their problems hadn't just drifted away, they were still very much there. But for the sake of what could be their last ever mission? She didn't want their pity problems in the way.


	10. Chapter 10

**Yay! I'm ill so I finally finished this! Extra-long chapter for you guys 'cause I made you wait so long. Yes, I am a cheat and basically took the mission out of a video game called "Hitman: Absolution", but adapted it slightly. There's drama at the end, just to spice things up. I promise, Clintasha fluff next chapter. Please review, cause it makes me wanna write, loads. I'll start writing when I next get a chance. Hope you like it! **

* * *

SHIELD was busy. Extremely busy. It wasn't like usual, where everyone had their work and their problems, but as Natasha and Clint walked side by side down SHIELD corridors for the first time as partners for God knows how long, everyone was staring. Natasha didn't mind much, she was surprisingly used to people looking at her, but Clint seemed slightly on edge. Drawing attention to themselves wasn't something either of them wanted, although Natasha couldn't care much. She knew Clint just wanted to keep their business exactly that way, _their_ business.

Agents stopped and looked, giving them smiles as if they knew what was happening, but they couldn't possibly understand what Natasha was feeling right now. She was conflicted. On one hand, she was so happy to be working with Clint again, no matter for how short a time, but their issues were still there, beneath the surface. It seemed like they'd both chosen to ignore it though. However, Natasha wasn't sure how long she could last without saying anything.

Instead of going to meet Fury for mission briefing, they were going straight to the transportation unit of SHIELD, after they had gathered everything they needed. It was there that they'd meet Coulson who would tell them exactly how they wanted this go down. The very idea of seeing Stella again made Natasha's stomach twist and churn, but knowing that she'd most likely have the upper hand, made the feeling die down, and raise a feeling of anticipation.

They walked side by side down the corridors, nodding to some of their more acquainted colleagues. Natasha felt Clint pause beside her. "Look, Natasha." He grabbed her very lightly, tugging her out of the middle of the corridor and to the side. "Before we go I have to talk to you." Natasha felt that he was reluctant to say this, but he took a deep breath and eventually looked her in the eye.

"I'm sorry. I was being such an ass, when really I was just scared. I wanted to tell you -" Before he was finished, Natasha shook her head slightly, cutting off his steady, but naturally rough voice.

She smiled at him, very slightly. "Can we ... uh, not? Can we just forget about everything until after the mission. For this one, for this last one, can we just be Black Widow and Hawkeye, the best team SHIELD has to offer. Without all this shit that we will eventually have to sort out?"

He smiled that half smile that Natasha had grown to love and recognize well. "Sure. No emotional crap, just the last mission, and two best friends." Clint stuck out his hand and glanced down and it. Taking it, smiling, Natasha shook it. "Deal?" Clint asked.

"Deal." Natasha replied.

* * *

The SHIELD van was unusually warm. Although that could have been as a result of Natasha's leather suit, or the fact that she was more nervous than usual. She was unsure of why she was nervous. Perhaps it was the fact that this was her first mission with Clint, in nearly over a month. Or more likely the fact that in less than an hour she would com face to face with Stella - the woman who had tortured her, and also planned to experiment on her. It was fair to say Natasha had spent her sweet time planning revenge, although she wasn't sure she'd be able to act upon those plans due to SHIELD official policies.

"Are you okay?" Clint asked, placing a caring hand on her knee. He quickly removed it after remembering their predicament, that they were supposed to sort out after this mission. "It's just you seem a little ... distant." He added.

"I'm fine." Natasha clarified, turning sideways to look at Clint in more detail.

His eyes had slight bag and overall he just looked a little tired, but he still smiled at her. That little smirk that Natasha had grown used to seeing. He had his bow and quiver in his lap, and an arrow in his other hand. It appeared he had been adjusting them.

"I know you are." He muttered, going back to what he had been doing before. I just want this to go smoothly."

"So do I, Clint, so do I." She also muttered under her breath, although she knew perfectly well that Clint could hear it.

The van continued and Natasha and Clint kept their thoughts to themselves for a while. The only thing breaking the silence was the occasional incoming commands and notifications sent to the driver that had been selected for this assignment.

"Okay guys." The driver was around Clint's age. He had dark blonde hair, long enough that it was tied back into a short ponytail. The driver turned to face them after he had eventually stopped the car. "This is drop off."

Natasha and Clint rose in unison, minds set into mission mode and other worries were pushed to the back of their thoughts. After grabbing two guns, Natasha moved along to pick up silencers and bullets.

"You know what to do." The driver continued speaking as the pair readied themselves. "When you've succeeded in capturing the target, the van will be outside, in front of the gates. Keep in communication, let us know and troubles you guys have." The driver gave them each a nod in turn and the two agents got out of the van.

* * *

It was a beautifully sunny day, with a light blue sky, absent of clouds. The sun brightened the green of the woodland that surrounded them. This is were they were to get into Stella's new country home. They'd been dropped off at the path through the woods that guards used to access Stella's grand home with out using the gate. The path was clear and it traveled straight through the woods.

Clint signaled for her to lead, and she took off without a second glance. A silenced gun in her hand, although she didn't want to use it. The idea was to simply knock out the guards long enough to access Stella in her home. If dead guards were appearing everywhere, then alarm would be raised even quicker. They had to do all this without other's catching on.

She stepped forwards, knees bent, and carried on until she saw the first guards. They had their backs to them, drinking coffee. It appeared they were on a break. And although they were armed, they seemed to be no threat. Natasha had to be clever about this. She picked a stone off the forest floor, and threw it so it landing off to the male guards left, causing a rustle.

"Stay here," He informed the woman, who rolled her eyes, but let him leave anyway. As soon as he had disappeared into the trees, Natasha moved forwards, until she was directly behind the women. Natasha grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth to stop her calling for help, also to knock her out. The women struggled, obviously, but eventually that died down and she lay still. The male guard was just coming back when Clint appeared behind him and did the same thing.

Natasha signaled to change clothes, and Clint started. Soon enough they were wearing the guards uniform, and although it was obvious that they were not Stella's guards, it would give them time to sedate other's before being found out.

They continued through the woodland until they saw another guard. Clint held back and Natasha once again moved forwards. "Hey." The guard turned to face Natasha. She inhaled deeply. "Do you have authority to be back here?"

"Of course I do." She rolled her eyes as the other guard had before. Suddenly, Clint came through the bushes, bow and arrow raised.

"Get back!" He shouted to Natasha, but he turned to face Clint. She took the opportunity to gently cut off his oxygen supply. He slumped against her and she lifted the lid of a container, finding it empty. After dumping the guard in there, the two moved forwards.

They made it through the garden with out any disturbances, and then the were at the green house. Through here, then a left would take them to the kitchen for Stella's home. Natasha was supposed to flirt with the head guard while Clint caused a distraction and take his key card.

The green house was beautiful. Brightly coloured plants and flowers were lined along the beds and vines with elegant roses grew along the walls. There were about 15 people in the green house, them, about eight gardeners and four guards. It was easy getting past them, crouch in the shade of the foliage.

Turning left took them to the exact route they were supposed to be. Clint's bow was folded, and in his was zipped in a long leather back, strung across his back. He looked unarmed. Natasha merely slid her gun up the pencil skirt of the female guard uniform and into a holster.

It was obvious who the head guard was as soon as the exited the kitchen. While all the others wore the regulation uniform, he wore a dark grey suit, with sunglasses, although the shutters were closed. Natasha began making her way over to him, while Clint disappeared back into the kitchen. Over head, a balcony showed the upper section of the house, and where, according to another guard she had overheard had said Stella was sleeping. It was all too easy.

"You." The head guard turned to her. "What are you doing?" He folded his arms, and Natasha could barely read his expression through his sun glasses. He seemed slightly suspicious.

"Me?" Natasha asked, gesturing to herself. "I was just on my break and I came to get some coffee. Although, I go slightly ... distracted." She wasn't sure how much time she had, so she risked being forwards and stepped towards the man. Gently, she laid a hand on his chest and leaned towards him. "Do you have five minutes?" She asked, her voice dripping with temptation.

"I guess I could make time." The ma's voice sounded arrogant, and he put a hand around her waist, about to lead her off to go somewhere quieter when there was a very loud popping noise.

"Fire! Fire in the kitchen!" She heard Clint shout, and knew he was now heading the opposite way out of the kitchen and round to where Natasha was, away from where everyone was entering.

"What!" The head guard's voice was incredulous and angry. He pulled away from Natasha and started towards the kitchen, with just enough time for Natasha to pull his key card from his suit pocket without him noticing. Casually, Natasha and Clint started walking in the direction of the stairs.

They were half way up the stairs when Clint muttered so only she could hear, "You got it?" She replied by flashing him a grin and flicking the key card between her fingers. Clint grinned back. The eventually made it to the balcony up a head. No guards were on that level. They must have been sorting out the fire, Natasha thought.

"My key card's gone!" Natasha heard the head guard roar from downstairs. "That bitch!" Oh great, now everybody was onto them.

"Run!" She shouted to Clint, who followed suit on her tail. They split, each going either side down the balcony, checking doors to find Stella. Natasha threw open countless doors, all resulting in something like a bathroom or a bedroom, however none contained Stella. Bullets were being fired from below, shattering the glass that made up the balcony.

"Oh shit." She had gotten to the end of the corridor, result in no Stella. Guards had just made their way onto the balcony. There were around six of them. Nothing she couldn't handle. After grabbing her gun from it's holster, she ducked into a door way. She peaked round and shot three of the guards down. Then she waited for the sound that would tell her they had run out of bullets. The firing stopped but the clicking of the trigger continued. Perfect.

"Romanoff, I've got her!" Clint shouted from across the balcony. She could clearly see on his side the scattered arrows in guards that had been after him. Before entering the room, Clint shot a final arrow towards Natasha. A grappling hook, attaching itself to each side of the balcony. She thanked him mentally and rolled out of the door way, attaching her belt to the line before kicking off and scooting to the other side.

When she opened the door, Stella was on the bed, hands and legs hand been tied. "Guards! Guards!" She was screaming. Natasha smirked. Seeing Stella this hysterical was a pleasant sight for Natasha, although it was only half of what she had experienced. Clint pulled down a dressing table and dragged Stella behind it. "What are you going to do? Kill me?" She asked, tears rolling down her face.

"No. It would be over to quickly." Natasha said, reloading her gun and waiting for the guards to come back down the hallway and into the room. "We have something much worse planned for you." It was a bluff of course, the things she had planned SHIELD would never let her do.

A blast sounded as a guard kicked the door down. Natasha ducked behind the dresser and Clint copied the same motion. "Clint, work on getting us out of here. I'll take care of these guys." She looked from the side of the dresser and took out two of the incoming guards.

"The window is out only shot." Clint said looking out. "It's a two story drop though. Any ideas?" Natasha came up blank. If it was just the two of them, them could scale it easily, but she wasn't sure Stella would comply. "My grappling hook can hold two people." He added.

Natasha turned to Stella. "You're going to go with Clint, you're not going to try anything, because if you do we will kill you." She emphasized the last four words. "Understood?" Stella nodded. Her eyes were red from crying, but Natasha had no sympathy. The gunshots kept coming, hitting the dresser. "Clint, take Stella. She'll go with you, and if she tries anything, shoot her." Clint nodded. Natasha would go down after them.

"Shit!" She cried out. She'd ran out of bullets. For some reason she hadn't anticipated needing this many, she would kick herself for that later. "Go, I'll try and hold them off another way. When you get down, call the driver." Clint used his bow to smash the window in, also using it to break any sharp shards poking out. He shot a sing arrow downwards and attached himself to it, using his belt. He picked up Stella, who was still tied.

"Here," He said, dropping his quiver and bow in front of her. "You'll need it." She thanked him by nodding and then Clint was gone. She picked up the bow.

It was obvious that she was no where near as skilled as Clint, nobody was. And guns were her preferred use of weapon, but after some lessons with Clint back at SHIELD, she could fire perfectly well. She hit each of the guards in turn, and moved herself towards the window. Natasha was just readying herself to scale, when another figure appeared at the door. "You little whore." He seethed, gun pointed towards her. Natasha just had time to blow him a kiss before she lowered herself.

Hitting the ground lightly, she handed Clint back the bow and saw he had untied Stella's legs, although her hands were still bound. She nodded in agreement. Although her gun was empty, she pressed it against Stella's back and felt her tense. "Run. Fast." Using her lips to enunciate the words.

And they did. They ran fast and quick, through the woodlands. It appeared most of the guards had been called to the building to handle the intruders, so not many were left in the forest. However they still had to avoid a few. Eventually, the gate was insight and the van in front. When they reached it, Clint wrenched open the door and threw Stella inside.

"Now what?" Stella spat. "Kill me here? Torture me for information?" Natasha promptly moved forward and stood over Stella. Casually, she used the butt of her gun and hit Stella in the head with it. Stella slumped, unconscious.

"Get you to shut up." Natasha replied, although Stella could no longer hear her. "C'mon, let's go." Her and Clint clambered into the back of the van, and it drove off into the distance. Sweet relief flooded Natasha, and she turned to grin at Clint, who was already smiling.

* * *

"Glad to see you Agents handled everything well. As always." Fury commented, his face blank of emotion, apart from a quiver in his lip stopping him from smiling. "Truly, a good job Agents."

"Thanks Director." Natasha smiled. They had gotten back to SHIELD, and watched Stella been taken off. It was a good sight for Natasha, Stella experiencing the feeling of being trapped Natasha had. But no one was coming to save her. Natasha would make sure of that. After that, Clint and Natasha had separated to shower and change, then meet back with Fury to debrief. "But what will happen to Stella now?"

"Well, you two will probably be the ones to interrogate her, y'know, finish off the job. And then she'll stay with the rest of SHIELD criminals." It didn't seem like enough to her, but nothing else could happen. "So that's it really. You two may leave." Fury, got up and starting filing the papers of the mission away.

When the two agents had stepped outside Fury's office, Clint looked at Natasha. Really looked. She was obviously exhausted, but there was something different about her. Her shoulders looked less tense, like a weight had literally been taken off her. But she still looked slightly anxious. It came with the job, he guessed.

She wore the clothes she always kept at SHIELD. A plain white T-shirt, and dark blue faded jeans, with her old and beat up sneakers. Her hair had grown longer than he remembered. Instead of her fiery red waves being just above her shoulder, it now lay on her chest. He'd always liked her hair long, but to her it was impractical. It wouldn't be long till she cut it off.

Without speaking, he reached out to her, pulling her into his arms and she reacted by laying her head on his chest. She exhaled softly. He stroked her hair, and lightly kissed the top of her head. Part of Clint was thankful the corridor was especially empty that day. Natasha looked up at him, still with her arms wrapped around his waist. "Let's go home." She smiled.

It was around seven 'o'clock, and he was grateful to hear those words, because he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep, with Natasha in his arms. "Yeah. Let's."

* * *

Max still wondered around the Avengers Tower. It was her day off and when Clint and Natasha had left, she'd been invited to stay for dinner. Seeing as her room at SHIELD was still occupied, she had agreed. They'd had spaghetti cooked by Bruce, and it was amazing. You didn't get food like that at SHIELD.

Most of the Avengers were in the lounge, watching some show about these brothers who hunted demons or something. It wasn't really Max's thing, so she had left to get a drink - and to find Steve.

Funnily enough, Steve was seated in the kitchen, looking through some papers from SHIELD, probably handling his paper work.

"Hey Steve." She smiled as she walked in, getting a glass of water. "How are you?" Max leaned against the counter, taking a sip of the icy cool drink.

"Oh, hey Max. I'm fine." He smiled slightly, but he looked occupied, partially anxious. Max walked to the table he was sitting at and pulled out a chair opposite him.

"Are you sure? You look a little ... tense." She decided that was the best word. Steve sighed and collected up the papers. Max caught a glimpse of something she thought looked familiar a name or something.

He ignored her question. "Max, can I asked you something?" She nodded in reply. "How did you get into SHIELD. Well, not just SHIELD, all of it. How did you become an agent?"

The question shocked Max, but she brushed it off as curiosity. Not many of the Avengers knew much about her. It was only natural for them to think about it, if she was spending more and more time there.

"I grew up in a care home in Ohio. When I got fostered, I started doing things like Judo, gymnastics, karate, and other things. I took acting courses. I got picked up by an agency. They said I had skills they could perfect and I could be one of the best." She folded her hands.

"Of course, I look young for my age, and they used that. It worked well, but they still treated my like a kid. So I left, and came here. It's not very exciting really. Just, y'know, life, I guess." She smiled at the end, but Steve didn't. His eyes were dark, and his face looked doubtful.

"If that's so," He began, getting up and walking over to the counter. He got himself his own glass of water from the tap. After taking a sip, he turned to face her. "Who's Kyla?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the wait! I've had such a bad writer's block, it's been killing me. Anyway, here's the promised Clintasha fluff. I hope you like it, and reviews and criticism are always welcome. Check out my other stories too, more Clintasha there.**

* * *

Natasha barely remembered the drive from SHIELD back to Avenger's Tower; she was suddenly exhausted. She remembered the lights of New York City through the rain on the window. She remembered the pleasant warmth of the car. She remembered Clint driving with one hand on the wheel, the other holding her hand, rubbing circles on to the back of her hand with his thumb. Her eyes kept fluttering open and closed.

And then they arrived, the journey there a blur to Natasha. She could feel herself drifting out of the dream like sleep the ride had put her in. Gently, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Clint was sitting back in the drivers seat, smirking at her. Natasha turned to face him, taking in his appearance. Dark grey spots were flickered on his own faded grey top, from where he'd gotten wet in the run from the building to the car. He had given her his jacket to hold over her head, and they'd legged it. When they got to the car Natasha had walked round to the driver's side and wrapped her arms around his neck. He had kissed her forehead.

She fought a smile off her lips at the memory that had only taken place around half an hour or so ago. "Something funny Tash?" He asked sarcastically.

"No." She murmured, pushing a strand of red hair behind her ear. "Can we go inside?" Natasha turn to look at Clint, to find him staring at her. She wasn't sure what she could see in his eyes, but she liked it. He looked relaxed, and she liked the fact he could feel like that around her.

"Sure." He replied, tearing his eyes away from her to get out of the car. Clint had borrowed one of Tony's cars to get to SHIELD, so they had parked in his garage. Clint began walking towards the elevator, when Natasha caught his sleeve.

"Let's take the stairs." She prompted, and changed their course towards the stair well. Natasha let go of Clint's sleeve, but only for him to slip his rough hand, around her smaller, but just as scarred one.

"Yeah, cool. But why?" Clint, caught up to her, so he was walking besides her, rather than looking like he was being pulled in tow. She turned to look at him, and had to tilt her chin slightly to look at his face.

She smiled at him. "I feel like it should be just us tonight. We'll see the team tomorrow." After speaking she looked away. She felt vulnerable, and although that would usually make her feel uncomfortable and protective, that night, it was nice. When she was Clint, her walls didn't need to go up. That was what she had to tell herself.

"Of course." He replied, smiling at her. When she turned away, her scarlet hair fell in front of her face, hiding details like her cheekbones, leaving green eyes between the strands and the point of her nose poking out. Her gaze fell to the floor they were walking on, and Clint looked up.

They walked up the stairs in silence, but a comfortable one. Hand in hand, tracing patterns on to the backs of each others knuckles. It was only when Clint looked around did he see what floor they were on. It was Bruce's. Clint's was one more up, and Natasha's two floors down. Clint paused.

"We past your floor." Clint stated, looking quizzically at her. When she looked at him, she was confused for a split second for having to look down. He had stopped on the step below her, and she was now taller than him. She smirked.

"Yes." She remarked. "We did." Natasha nodded, looking for Clint's response. He stepped up on to her step, and held both of her hands in his.

"Tonight," He began. "Don't feel like we have to do anything. What ever you want is fine with me. I just wanna be close to you." His hand moved from her's, and traced the outline of her face, before tucking a loose strand behind her ear.

"I want to sleep in your arms. I want you to hold me, and I want to pretend we're okay. I want to pretend everything isn't falling apart, for just one night. For us to just be ... us again. Can we do that?" Her green eyes rested on his face, following every detail. His jaw, his nose, his lips, and bright eyes.

"Yes." He leaned down to kiss her gently, stroking her cheek. "Yeah, we can." He mumbled against her lips.

Natasha leaned into his arms, but only for a few moments, before pulling apart. She took his hand again and began walking up the last set of stairs. Clint brought her hand to his mouth and pressed another kiss against it. They didn't talk on the way to Clint's floor, but Natasha felt completely at ease.

When they reached his door, he opened to reveal the same set out as Natasha, with the only bit separate being the bathroom. It wasn't a mess, but not perfectly clean either. It looked lived in. His laundry basket was over flowing slightly, and he hadn't bothered to make his bed, but that was Clint, and it made Natasha feel at home.

"I'll just go and change," Natasha pointed towards the bathroom door and Clint nodded. "Could I borrow a t-shirt or something?" She asked, leaning on the door frame.

"Sure," Clint responded and walked over to his dresser. It was surprisingly neat. He pulled out a light gray t-shirt, that would probably reach Natasha's mid thigh, if not longer. "This okay?" He asked, tossing it towards her.

"Perfect." She smiled, catching the t-shirt, and walking into the bathroom. "I won't be a second." She assured him.

* * *

Having showered at SHIELD, Natasha didn't have to worry about doing that at Clint's floor. But being honest, she didn't think she would worry much anyway. Sure, this was different. After spending this time of kind together after such a wedge had been driven between them would be new and strange, but it wasn't like it had never happened before.

The mirror in Clint's bathroom ran along the width of the wall, and Natasha could see herself clearly. Her red curls hand loosely by her shoulders. About time for a trim, she thought. Even she had to admit that her eyes stood out brightly, but not in a way she liked. It drew unneeded attention to her pale face, and she didn't like it. It made the slight freckles that lined her nose more obvious, which made her look more innocent than she was. Anyone who knew her could tell you that.

She stripped from the clothes she had taken the journey in, down to her underwear, and turned to look at herself quickly before putting on the t-shirt. Bruises lined her body, all in different phases, of healing old ones, to just showing new ones, ones that she had gotten that day. They ached.

Of course she hated her scars, but they were inevitable with her job, and each one told a different story. From her time at the Red Room, from missions with Clint, from times she'd been by herself. From ones she was getting everyday. Clint knew what nearly every scar was from, and told her she was beautiful even with them. Natasha however thought they made her beautiful, more than anything else about her. That was the real her, not the little girl freckles dotted along her nose and under her eyes.

Eventually she pulled on the light grey t-shirt. It smelt like Clint, his cranberry soap, and his cologne. The smell made her feel warm inside, and butterflies grew in her stomach. She wasn't nervous, just happy. It was sweet and what she needed. She needed Clint to block everything else out, in his strong arms, just happy.

One last glance in the mirror and she smiled, before stepping out into the room.

* * *

When Natasha stepped into the bathroom, Clint turned around and exhaled. He wasn't nervous exactly, just conscious. He thought he'd say something wrong, and mess up everything they had done that day. Being honest with himself, he hated the way he had been treating Natasha. She just wanted to talk things out, but he felt he over reacted. Even when he said he needed space and time to think, she had done that.

Clint couldn't blame her when she had shouted at him, telling him to pull himself together and figure out what he wants. It was what he needed. And now he knew what he wanted. Natasha. He didn't care how hard it would be, or what it would affect. He just didn't want to go any longer without her. He couldn't.

Running a hand through his hair, he began walking towards his dresser. He pulled out his shorts that he slept in and grabbed a clean t-shirt. He stripped quickly and tossed his dirty clothes towards the hamper, and pulled on the shorts. They were probably the comfiest thing he owned, and loved the soft fabric.

Clint was just turning around when Natasha exited the bathroom. She looked confident in the over sized t-shirt, completely comfortable with herself. Or just being around Clint made her feel like that. Clint liked the idea of that. She looked up and smiled at him, pulling her bright hair over to one shoulder. It fell, loose ringlets curling at the end.

Natasha walked straight over towards his bed, and sat down cross legged in the middle. She did her little assured half smile that she did when she was happy. Clint grinned and walked towards her.

Grabbing his hands in hers, she pulled him gently on to the bed. Clint wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her neck, before tracing more along to her mouth. She smiled, and pulled his arms closer around her, until there was no space left between them. Just curled in each other's arms, barricaded from the rest of the world. Shut off, with the only two people who mattered in that moment.

"Are you tired?" Clint mumbled, kissing the top of Natasha's head. Her hand lay on his chest, stroking circles on the fabric of the t-shirt. In their cocoon of blankets and limbs, she managed a nod. "Then let's sleep." But Natasha shook her head. Clint removed his hand and rested in on her face. "Why not?"

"Because," Natasha paused. Vulnerability was not something Natasha was used to. But she couldn't shut Clint off. She would never get anywhere with him is she pushed him away when it mattered. She had to try. "Because I don't want to wake up in the morning and realise everything isn't okay. I don't want you to be gone. I want to stay with you."

Clint smiled lightly. "Tasha," He pushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I'll be here when you wake up. I'll still be with you and you'll still be here, in my arms." With the words of comfort, she rested her head back on his chest and nodding, biting her lip. "Now sleep."

"Good night Clint." She mumbled, interlinking his hand with her's, like she thought if they were holding on to each other, they wouldn't get lost between the state of their dreams and waking up in the morning.

"Good night, Nat." He replied, kissing her forehead once more, before closing his own eyes and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"If that's so," He began, getting up and walking over to the counter. He got himself his own glass of water from the tap. After taking a sip, he turned to face her. "Who's Kyla?"

Max froze. The name made the colour drain from her face and she gripped the table, knuckles turning white. "Who?" She clenched her jaw and forced the word out. Steve gripped the counter where the sink was before turning round.

"Okay, Max," He said the word sarcastically, which was list a slap in the face to Max. "I'm not stupid. So just be honest now, or things can only get worse for you." Steve removed his hand from the counter and ran it through his hair, before walking back over to the table.

"Who told you?" Max asked, her blood boiling. It could have only been one person, and she was sure as hell going to rip him limb from limb. Steve looked even more frustrated.

"It doesn't matter!" He slammed a fist on the table, making Max flinch. "I over heard you and Loki talking, you sure as hell weren't being as secretive as you thought. What matters is what you intend to do."

Max faltered, and looked up at Steve. "What I intend to do?" She repeated, getting up. Turning away, she covered her face, trying to compose herself. "I ran away from that life, Steve! I've lied everyday, to forget, and move on. To try and do something good. What I intend to do? I intend to forget about my childhood, and the awful things I've done. I just want to make amends."

She took a big, shaky breath. Crying was weak, and she knew it. After releasing her long breath, she turned back to Steve, hoping she seemed calm still. "I'm sorry Steve. It's just - it's just, everything has been so hectic lately, and then Loki found out and threatened me. And now you know -"

"Loki threatened you?" Steve asked, interjecting. He - as well as most of the Avengers - was still suspicious about Loki, no matter how well they were getting along. "What did he say? What did he say exactly?" Steve prompted.

"He said that he would tell everyone, if I made one wrong move. He said he wanted to return to Asgard, and would ruin me if I got in his way." So that wasn't all technically true. Sure he had said those things, but not in that context. He had been looking out for the Avengers, but twisting words was a specialty of Max, and this called for it.

If she could get Steve on her side, or even better, against Loki, the threat of the God of Mischief would practically disappear. The last thing Loki wanted was to stir trouble - well, more than he was doing already.

"I was young." Max lowered her voice. "Naive, with a father telling me what I had done was right. He was mad, deranged. And I was scared. Please, please, Steve. You see trouble, call me out. But I just want to make up for it now."

Steve sighed. "Okay Max. Okay. You get one shot? Because if you're lying to me, and you do end up causing trouble, it will have been my fault." Steve got up to walk away. He looked conflicted, Max could see it in his eyes.

He turned slightly before heading out of the door of the kitchen. "If Loki gives you anymore trouble, tell me." He paused. "Maybe it would be better if you went back to SHIELD for a bit." And with that he exited.

* * *

Natasha had always loved the feeling of waking up to the sun on her eye lids. She'd lay, and feel the heat and light seep through before she had even opened her eyes. It was pure relaxation, her bliss.

But this was different. For one, a cold breeze was seeping through what she guessed was an open window. She could feel the curtains floating through it. The light projecting on to her still closed eyes was a different kind of light to sun, not as warm, but just as bright.

For a moment, she had forgotten where she was. All she could feel was the sheets wrapped around her body, a shiver running up her spine, and a hand. It was merged with hers, and although she lay away from the person lying next to her, it was there, reminding her that she was not alone. Not that night.

Finally, she opened her eyes. The light had been the moon, shining through the window. Lights from the city beneath shone too, and gleamed like stars, of which were absent in the sky. It occurred to her that as she and Clint lay sleeping, the city beneath them was still awake, thriving at this hour.

Clint. She remembered, and turned silently to face him. He was asleep, and didn't feel her hand slipping out of his as she dragged herself across the bed, and towards him.

He looked younger, more innocent in his sleep. Like the past years he had experienced were stripped away, and he was a traveling circus boy again, only worrying about fun and mischief, and not knowing of bigger problems, like pain and heart ache.

Then Natasha thought to herself, if this was her last night, or the way she'd spend every future night; she couldn't think of a better one. To Natasha, there was nothing more peaceful than lying with the man who knew everything about her, and not only loved her despite of it, but because of it. But at the same time as being peaceful, he could also make her heart race. And not in the way she was used to.

She froze. Love? Had she just really thought that? Did she honestly think Clint loved her. And not only that, did this mean she loved him. Being honest with herself, if this was love, she wouldn't be surprised. It was everything she had thought love was like. Impractical, an annoyance, and yet still love. And if it wasn't love? She was pretty sure this was as close as she'd ever get. She couldn't imagine feeling the same way about anyone.

Natasha wasn't sure how long she had been watching Clint for, but eventually his eyes began open. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand, and reached for Natasha's with the other. He pressed a sleepy kiss to it. "You okay?" He asked, his eyes closing slightly again.

"Never better." She replied, ungrateful for the starkness in her tone, but Clint smiled anyway. He looked exhausted, and Natasha wasn't surprised. Natasha wasn't sure what made her do it, but as Clint's eyes began to float closed, and didn't look at if they were going to open, she whispered. "I love you, Clint Barton."

"I love you too, Natasha Romanoff." She hadn't expected a reply, but Clint murmured it back with his eyes sealed shut. He reached out and turned her, so her she lay side by side to him and he wrapped his arms around her. Eventually, Natasha felt her eyes close too.


	12. Chapter 12

**So, so, so, so, so, sorry it's late. I'm putting this while I'm falling asleep, so if there are any big mistakes, you know why. It'd be awesome if you could follow my new tumblr: **_**just-fandom-writin****g**_**_._ Reviews are lovely, and well appreciated. I just wanted to say thank you for all the ones I've gotten so far. There are a lot. So keep reviewing and folllowing, and I'll keep writing :) Hope you like this chapter, which may be a tad boring. **

* * *

Natasha could only describe the feeling she felt when she woke as pure bliss. The moon had gone in and morning had risen, but Natasha nor Clint had noticed this in their peaceful sleep. In fact, the moment of confusion and loss Natasha felt when she looked next to her and saw Clint was gone, was immediately surpassed when she heard the gentle patter of the shower from the bathroom next door. He obviously hadn't wanted to wake her.

Enjoying the time to herself to think, she spread out across the bed, feeling the empty space next to her. She rolled over and hugged a pillow to her chest; it still smelt like Clint.

What happened the night before was her idea of perfection. She felt, finally, at peace. The feud between Natasha and Clint had died out, but her stomach twisted at the thought of what needed to happen next.

The conversation she was dreading. The conversation where they had to talk about what they were, what they meant, and what they were going to do. Natasha, did not in fact want to have that conversation at all.

She didn't see the point. Clint and Natasha had never really known what they were, and it had worked like that. Until they were separated. They were no longer a team, but they could still work as one, the last mission had proved that.

As for what they meant? Natasha thought she new. Love.

She sat up. A sleepy memory filled her mind. She had told him that she loved him. And he had said it back.

So that settled it. Whatever they were going to do now, however much of a problem their relationship may become, she loved him. And apparently he loved her back.

Natasha had to admit, she didn't know much about love. She wasn't raised on fairy tales, or romance stories, but she had picked a few things up. Stupid girls always droned on about how they felt butterflies in their stomach. She didn't. With Clint, it was like she could finally relaxed. She could exhale, after holding a breath for what seemed impossible around him.

They also spoke about how all they could think about, was that one guy. That was technically true. For a woman who had trained to be focused all her life, the archer kept creeping back into her mind. But when she needed to focus, on the field, on a mission, she could keep him out. Unless of course, he was on the mission too. They worked in a balance then, and she thought about him when she needed to.

On the one mission she had actually been with Cameron, she had found herself comparing him to Clint. How Clint would of hit the target from the distance, how Clint would of kept their cover better, and how Clint wouldn't of left her there.

Because he wouldn't of, and Natasha knew that. He would of rather died. No matter how much Natasha would of screamed at him to go on, and leave her. He just wouldn't.

Silently, she lightly swung her legs over the side of the bed, and took time to look across the room. Clint's clothes were scattered in a random trail to his bathroom. The window had been closed and there was a towel draped across a chair in the corner of the room.

Natasha stood up, crossed the room, and picked up the towel. Clint had obviously forgotten it. Natasha pulled the t-shirt Clint had given her to sleep in over her head, and tossed in on the floor, with the rest of Clint's discarded clothes.

The shower was still rushing from inside the bathroom. Clutching the towel in one hand, she opened the door to the bathroom only slightly, hot steam wafted out, and Natasha stepped inside.

* * *

Once again, Clint had left all his paper work to the last minute and had to rush into SHIELD that morning. After planting a goodbye kiss on Natasha's lips, he left, and Natasha was alone again.

She didn't feel all that lonely though. Clint's presence was still everywhere, and now, after last night, it didn't make her angry or, sad. It comforted her.

After their, eventful, shower, Natasha got dressed as Clint left. She didn't know what she'd do today, on her day off, so she dressed casually. Dark jeans, and black vest top, and she grabbed Clint's SHIELD zip up hoodie on the way out of his suite. When she entered the elevator, Steve and Tony were already in there.

"Hey Nat." Tony chimed, and gave her a cheeky grin. He was wearing a suit and tie, but it was loosened nicely. Most likely he had just gotten back from a meeting with Pepper. Natasha nodded, and found herself smiling back.

"Hey Tony, hey Steve." She returned the greeting, and issued one towards Steve. His face was gaunt and serious, but he hid it well. Natasha knew better than to believe the small smile on the soldiers face.

"Hi Tasha." Steve said absentmindedly. He was obviously troubled. Tony however, did not seem to notice. Or he was just ignoring it. After all, Steve and Tony didn't have the best relationship. They were always arguing about one thing or another, but recently they'd been becoming better friends.

"I was just talking to Steve about the next movie night we'll be having. I was thinking Disney." Tony gestured in front of Natasha, as if she'd be able to see it in front of her.

She thought for a moment. "Mulan. Mulan is my favourite Disney film." Not that she had seen many. But it had been on TV one night, and she'd sat down to watch it after a mission. She'd love it from then on.

"So it's settled! Mulan it is." Tony grinned widely, and prompted Steve by nudging him with his elbow. This received a mumble from the blonde man about how it sounded fun. The elevator reached Tony's floor. "I'm off to shower. See you later." He mimed a salute and got out.

The was an odd moment of silence between Natasha and Steve. She turned to look at the man. He stood with his hands together, elbows out, staring at a fixed point on the elevator wall. An army man if ever she saw one. But still, he looked troubled.

"You okay, Steve?" Natasha asked, trying to keep the suspicious tone out of her voice. Steve turned to look at her, and smiled.

"Never better." He said simply, sounding happier than before, but that was most likely because he was aware of Natasha catching on to his mood.

"You sure?" She prompted, assuring herself that she wouldn't ask any further after this. He might not want to talk about it, and as long as it didn't endanger the team, who was Natasha to butt in.

Steve sighed. "Just stressed, that's all. SHIELD have been a pain in the neck recently." He hesitated before speaking. Somehow Natasha suspected more, but she let it slide.

"Well, if you need anything, come and find me." She smiled at him, before walking out of the elevator that had just arrived at the kitchen level. He smiled back at her, though somewhat halfheartedly.

* * *

Clint was agitated at work. Despite his amazing morning - and it had been an amazing morning - all he wanted was to be home with Natasha. It seemed to soon be away from her, like he could still keep the feeling last night had given him, as long as he was with her. But he was away from her. So he couldn't wait to get back, and regain that blissful feeling.

So for now, he would wait. He was waiting for a lot of things really. He was waiting for a coffee he had been promised, by Natasha's partner Cameron, he'd get. He was waiting for Fury to show up so they could actually start the meeting. He was also waiting for the mysterious guest Coulson had informed them was visiting.

Meanwhile, Clint couldn't help but think how awful Max looked. She looked like she hadn't slept in a while, because Clint knew that look well. Her blonde hair was down, and fell just past her shoulders, but it looked slightly messy. And not in the hot "just got out of bed" way he was used to seeing with Natasha.

But Max also looked slightly troubled. Like there was something in the back of her mind bothering her, something she couldn't just forget about. Being honest, Clint thought he had caused enough trouble with Max, it seemed best if he just left it.

The tension in that meeting room could of been cut by a knife, so Clint was grateful when Cameron entered the room. He was grateful that he'd returned with the promised coffee, and returned to break the silence, even if he didn't entirely like Natasha's partner.

Honestly speaking, Clint didn't know Cameron that well, but he'd heard about him. First of all, he'd made accusations about Clint and Natasha's relationship. Clint didn't mind people talking about him, it wasn't that. But Cameron had said Clint had used Natasha, toyed with her. Which obviously wasn't true.

And then there was the fact he'd left Natasha. Left her to the horrors of Dr. Norman, and the people at Dr. Orkel's facility. Awful things, terrible things had happened to Natasha in there. Hell, they were even planning to experiment, and would have if they hadn't shown up on time. And she wouldn't have even been in there if it wasn't for Cameron.

So it was safe to say that Clint wasn't Cameron's biggest fan. But, being the professional he was, he accepted the coffee with a mumble of gratitude, and that seemed to be enough for Cameron.

"So where's Natasha? Doesn't she get to meet the mystery guest?" He joked, but stopped smiling after a glare from Clint, and surprisingly from Max. Apparently, she didn't like him either. But then again, it seemed that Max didn't like anyone recently. Apart from maybe Steve.

"She resting. The last mission was tiring, and she's still supposed to be recovering from being held captive at Dr. Orkel's facility." Clint leaned back in his chair and looked around the room. "Not that anyone seems to remember that."

Max scoffed, and Clint turned to stare at her. "Oh please," She said, crossing her arms. "It's kinda in our job description to deal with this stuff. Not take vacation time every time things get a little uneasy."

"Excuse me. I don't see you being kidnapped around here. Have you ever been tortured, Max?" Max didn't reply, just continued glaring. "Have you ever had someone make you cry, and screech, and wail, for their sheer pleasure? Have you ever been in a situation like that, where there is absolutely nothing you can do about it?" Max rolled her eyes, but Clint knew he had made his point. "Didn't think so."

"Whatever." Max turned away, and Cameron looked somewhat sheepish. He was probably feeling guilty about the fact that he was the reason Natasha was there in the first place. Good, he deserved to feel awful about that.

A moment of silence passed with gentle sipping of coffee and looks around the room, mostly to avoid looking at each other. After a good five minutes, Cameron finally broke the tense silence.

"So any idea who this guy is?" He asked, leaning back and looking at his watch. Max shrugged.

"Someone from one of the UK's branches. Just a normal agent apparently. Most be looking to be transferred if he's looking around. He's check other SHIELD bases, and now here. So he's possibly looking for one he's best suited for. Either that, or he's looking for someone." At the end of that sentence, Max looked up, her face even paler than before. Clint thought nothing of it, mostly because he didn't want to think of Max anymore, he wanted to drift back into the peace he felt with Natasha instead.

Not much more was said after that, and after roughly ten minutes, Coulson walked in and sat next to Clint. "Our guest should be here in a moment, he's just speaking with Fury for now." Coulson turned to Clint and spoke in a lower tone. "How's she doing? The last mission wasn't too hard on her was it?"

Clint laughed. "She may be still recovering, but she's Natasha. And even if it was, she wouldn't let on." Coulson smiled fondly. Out of all his Agents, he enjoyed being Clint and Natasha's handler most.

"She would to you." Coulson hinted, and Clint looked away in thought.

The door to the room opened for the third time, and a man in a black suit walked in. He had light blonde hair, and pale, English skin, with freckles dotted along his nose. He still looked quite intimidating thought, due to his stony expression, and his apparently arrogant attitude.

"Agents, this is Agent Mark Cooper." Coulson gestured to the entering man, who nodded curtly.

Cooper held out his hand and shook Cameron and Clint's in turn. "Agent Barton, heard a lot about you, impressive things too." He walked around the other side of the table to Max. "And I already know Agent Jones." He smiled, and Max, to make a difference, glared some more, but this time at the apparently familiar man.

"How's that then?" Coulson was pleasant, and smiled at SHIELD's guest. He turned to face Coulson, while Max, being perfectly honest, looked like she was going to pass out.

Agent Cooper smiled in return. "She was at our branch in the UK. Our little Maxine, could have been the best of us. Now she's here, and a little further from being the best. Still, she's good though, am I right?"

"You certainly are Agent Cooper." It was obvious that Coulson was just humoring Cooper, and Cooper was just toying with Max.

"Certain training makes you just that good though. Is that right Max?" She went rigid, but forced herself to look up and smile at Cooper.

"They were the best. I couldn't of done it without your facility's help." She smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't particularly feel that well, I'm going to fetch some water." She rose slowly, and walked out of the meeting room.

"Great girl," Agent Cooper remarked, his jaw rigid. "Great girl." He repeated, and Clint couldn't help but think he'd missed a whole novel between the lines there. Maybe SHIELD should look into this Agent Cooper guy. He looked a little shady.

* * *

Loki had his favourite parts of Avenger's Tower. Tony had these long corridors, with big windows, and when things were getting a little too hectic for Loki's taste, he'd find one, sit on the window sill, and read till things died down. Then he'd probably go find Bruce and talk to him for a while. The doctor was growing on him, he'd admit that much.

So it was on one of those window sills, he sat reading poetry when a certain soldier found him. Loki looked up from his book and smiled. "Good Captain, what can I do for you today?" He asked somewhat sarcastically.

"You can cut the crap for one," Steve replied. "We need to talk, somewhere private." He spoke again, gentler now.

"My, my, my, what has wound you up so tightly today, Steven? But as you wish." He stood, and set his book down, planning to come back to the very same spot afterwards.

They walked in silence until they reached the elevator, Steve hit the ground floor button, which was where Loki understood the automobiles were held. Loki much preferred using the stairs, but being perfectly honest, he didn't feel like quarreling with the soldier right now, so he traveled downwards in the metal box.

Once they reached the garage, Steve stepped out first, and looked around. It was empty. He gestured for Loki to step out of the lift, and the trickster complied.

Loki wore a long sleeved black top, and dark grey jeans. It was obvious to him as the soldier had come from the gym, seeing as the last few beads of sweat on his forehead were evaporating and he was wearing his grey sweatpants.

"I know about Max." Steve stated, cooly. Loki raised a suspicious eyebrow. "I mean I know about Kyla. Well, sort of."

"Oh," Loki's head bobbed as he mouthed the sound. "I see." He wasn't exactly sure why Steve was telling him this, but it had to be important. Well, important to the Captain.

"I overheard her arguing about it with you that night we were watching Supernatural, and you both went to get drinks. I got up to join you, but you were already arguing and I stopped to listen." He said sheepishly. "After I heard, I did some research on her, in her files, but I couldn't find anything of her life before she became an Agent. I need you to tell me everything you know."

Loki smiled, and began the story. Once he was finished Steve ran a hand through his hair. "So our young Max, Kyla, whatever you wish to call her, hasn't exactly been honest with your precious SHIELD."

Steve bit his lip. "But can you blame her? She says she wants nothing to do with her own life, and wiping it would be the only was for her to join SHIELD."

"Not necessarily. Natasha's past isn't clean, is it? And yet SHIELD wanted her. I don't see why she would have been any different." Loki shrugged. "I don't care particularly much, I thought looking out for you Avengers might give my father proof enough for me to come home. Do what you wish with the information I have given you."

"I think it may be best to leave it." Steve mused, mostly to himself. He still didn't like Loki much, but he seemed sincere here.

"All I suggest is that you keep an eye on her then. Her early life may have made her quite unstable, and she hasn't seemed to of completely forgotten her old ways. She threatened to kill me if I should -"

Steve cut him off mid sentence. "She told me you had threatened her." Steve stated. "Who am I supposed to belive?" He asked dryly.

"I must admit, I haven't been your greatest ally in the past," Steve scoffed, "But you must admit, I have done nothing since living here to prove I am untrustworthy. I have given you all you need to know. She did in fact threaten to kill me, and threat that was laughable, quite frankly. I would not have wasted my time threatening someone as lowly as her." He spat the word her out.

"I understand." Steve replied. "Thank you Loki, that's all I need." Loki nodded.

"If you don't mind, I shall return to my reading now. Good luck, Captain." He turned and began to climb the stairs.

* * *

Walking the many corridors of Avenger's tower that she had not yet discovered, Natasha found herself feeling lonely. It was early evening now, that time where the sky is red, and Clint was still at SHIELD, Tony and Bruce were still in the lab, Steve was still working on his motorbike and Thor was still at Jane's.

Natasha wished she was able to say she was still doing something, but all say she had been unable to focus. Knowing that her pile of paperwork was now building up, she had attempted that and had failed to concentrate on it. Her doctor had said that training was out of the question, and even so, she didn't really feel like training. TV and reading had just seemed too mundane for that morning, so she found herself wandering around the tower, desperate for some company.

That's why when she found Loki, sitting alone in a corridor, on a window sill, reading yet more poetry, she was surprisingly happy about it. "Hey," She greeted, sitting of the edge.

Loki didn't reply as such, he merely looked up from his book and nodded. A few moments passed before he finally spoke. "You look happy this morning. The works of a certain archer I presume." He didn't bother to look up again.

"Uh, yeah, I guess you couldn't say that." Natasha couldn't help but smile thinking about the night before. She then successfully managed to keep a blush rising to her cheeks when thinking about that morning.

"So what now?" Loki's voice didn't sound much like a question, even though she knew it was one. He kept his eyes pinned to the words on his pages.

Natasha's smile, no matter how faint, didn't falter. "What do you mean?" She asked, turning away to look out at the city. To her, it was beautiful at that time of evening.

"Did you talk of all your problems with each other? Did you say everything that needed to be said?" Natasha shook her head, and the movement caused Loki to look up. He laughed a sharp, and patronizing laugh, and Natasha flipped her head to look back at him. The smile drained from her face.

"Did you really think you could spend a night like you did last night, and all your troubles would have disappeared? For you Natasha, that notion was slightly foolish." Natasha wanted to be angry, she really did. But all she could think about was the fact that Loki was right.

Just because the night before had been so perfect, blissful and peaceful, didn't mean all the pressure on their relationship wasn't there now. It would still get in the way of their work, and it was altogether impractical.

But wasn't that what love was? Natasha, herself, wasn't entirely sure, but if she had to guess from what she felt for Clint, which was what she had assumed was love. It was impractical, and annoying, and confusing, and distracting, , and painful, and love. Natasha just blinked.

"Our troubles are still very much ... present. I just forgot about them, that's all." She got up, and picked up a book from beside Loki. One was on his lap, and three by his side. "Thank you for letting me borrow this." She waved it slightly, but he made no move to take it back. "And for other stuff too. See you around Loki." She held the book in her left hand, and began walking away, in the opposite direction to where she walked in.


End file.
